Reversing permanent diabetes type 1 in mice may end the wrenching debate on the harvesting stem cells from the unborn child for the treatment of diseases of adults. Researchers from Harvard Medical School killed cells responsible for diabetes, then animals adult stem cells took over and missing regenerated cells necessary for the production of insulin and eliminate the disease. "It should be possible to use the same method to reverse type 1 diabetes in humans," says Denise Faustman, associate professor of medicine, who heads the research unit. Establishment of a trial for patients has already begun to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which the body attacks the blood cells of its own organs and tissues. Such diseases include rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, lupus, and more than 50 other ills. Faustman believes that many of them can be cured by poisoning Similarly, the cells of delinquency and leaving adult stem cells regrow organs replacement. "Once the disease is out of the way, adult stem cells regenerate organs and normal tissues," Faustman said. "Moreover, we should be able to replace organs and tissues damaged by the use of adult stem cells, eliminating, at least temporarily, the need to harvest and transplant of stem cells from embryos and fetuses. Of course, it will take years before we Knowing with certainty whether we can do it in humans. " Embryonic stem cells have the ability to develop into all other types of cells. They may be able to maturity of brain cells to repair the damage caused by stroke, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases; In heart cells to heal the ravages of heart attacks; And in the bodies replace those ruined by cancer. But problems exist to obtain such cells to mature into a specific type of cell and focus on a specific place. There is also the problem of stopping them once more the repair is made. Uncontrolled growth can lead to tumors. The existence of adult stem cells raises the question why the agency did not use them on a regular basis to heal itself. Perhaps because adult stem cells, the populations are small and need some sort of outside stimulation. There are some additional evidence that adult cells injected into mice early in the repair of heart attack and stroke damage. In diabetes experiences that address the insulin-producing cells in the islet cells of the pancreas have been destroyed. The researchers intend to follow up the massacre with transplants of islet cells healthy, but, to their great surprise, this proved unnecessary because adult stem cells has returned to work. "It was a miracle that we did not expect," Faustman comments. Finding a missing link An estimated 16 million people have diabetes in the United States. About 10% of these patients suffer from Type 1, formerly called juvenile diabetes because it appears between ages 10 and 16. Type 1 diabetes can not make insulin to convert blood sugar into energy, they must inject themselves daily with the hormone to survive. New cases in the United States has tripled in the past 50 years. In type 2, formerly called adult-onset diabetes, which usually occurs gradually after the age of 40 and often can be managed by diet and exercise. Both together are the leading cause of kidney failure, adult blindness and limb amputation, as well as the main risk factors for heart disease, stroke, and congenital malformations. Faustman is not sure if his technique will work with Type 2 diabetes. "We do not know if the replacement of islet cells will do the job," she says. "Some experts believe that insulin resistance comes from outside the pancreas. There is also the possibility that type 2 diabetics exhausted their stem cells at a faster rate ", which reduces their ability to repair. The Harvard University, Massachusetts General Hospital team believes they can move from mice to humans because the same defective channels exist in the two species. "We always start our projects with human cells," Faustman says. "When we see something important, but can not experiment with patients, we go to the mouse." Defective in the way of human beings and mice has been known for years. It has been well studied in cancer and AIDS research, but everyone missed the connection to autoimmune diseases until Faustman's laboratory then lived. The defect involves a genetic mutation that causes white blood cells to attack the insulin-producing cells. It's as if the body rejects a part of himself because he could not tell the difference between normal cells and foreign invaders such as viruses or bacteria. Faustman the team found they could destroy cells in the delinquency of drugs. When given to mice, a compound known as FSC stimulated the production of another substance called tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF). A few years ago, researchers tested TNF as a cancer drug, and then as AIDS treatment, but have since dropped out. TNF destroyed cells could not say that the autonomy of nonself, but that is considered only a temporary respite. Everyone thought that it could not last until the body makes more leukocytes with the same defect. To counter this calamity, they planned another treatment for the rehabilitation of new cells so as not to attack the tissues of insulin in the pancreas. Once diseased cells were out of the way, however, adult stem cells took over and grew new islets in 40 days. "At the beginning, we thought we had failed," Faustman recalls. She and her colleagues have planned to follow up by transplanting islet cells grown in their laboratories. "But the biological indicators, we have seen is not what we wanted for such a transplant. Then we gradually realized that there were now islet cells which was 40 days before. It is amazing! We reversed the disease without needing transplants. " "These results are remarkable and surprising," said David M. Nathan, professor of medicine at Harvard, which will attempt to do the same experiments with humans at Massachusetts General Hospital. "We need careful studies to see if we can remove the offending blood cells in humans in the same manner as was done in mice. Adult stem cells in these mice were apparently deleted or inactive until 'that the cells that attack the pancreas were removed. We do not yet know whether adult human stem cells can achieve the same regeneration. If they can, and it will take years to find out, paving the way for treatment other autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis. 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