Respected researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch announced that they have engineered adult stem cells from human umbilical cord blood to produce insulin.
The Texan researchers stated that the breakthrough could help cure type 1 diabetes by enabling people to produce their own insulin-producing cells. The researchers chose umbilical cord blood for its rich source of fresh stem cells.
Matthew Scissler, CEO of Cord Blood America, stated, “Diabetes is a far more common affliction than cancer and leukemia, traditionally treated with stem cells. The progress with stem cells to treat Type I diabetes may logically grow our potential customer base exponentially.”
In closing he saluted the work done by the researchers as another reason why the company is in this growing sector. The stored cord blood has already been used to treat 75 major disease including leukemia, severe anemia, metabolic blood disorders and immune deficiencies.
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