Stem cell cure for diabetes in offing: Gujarat docs

There is good news for diabetes patients as there may be a stem cell cure for the disease.

Dr H L Trivedi and his team from Ahmedabad claim that they have discovered a cell that is present in human fat that can produce insulin, when cultivated.

"If we could transplant stem cells which have the ability to cure diabetes, then it's the final of final and ultimate of ultimate as far as cure for diabetes is concerned,” says Dr Trivedi, who is the director of Institute of Kidney Diseases,

The miracle stem cell can be transplanted into the liver, where it not only multiplies, but produces insulin as well - much like the islet cells that produce insulin in the pancreas.

With the cells present in fat, it would side step the controversy associated with embryonic stem cells. In fact Trivedi feels this could be nature's way of countering insulin.

“There is a strong reason to believe that this is a back-up system generated by nature. Nature has stored these insulin producing cells in our adipose tissue,” says Dr Trivedi.

The discovery couldn't be more relevant today, with India considered the diabetes capital of the world.

However, if Dr Trivedi's team manages to develop this, it would mean treatment for a condition that is the 4th leading cause of death in the world.

So what is the next step?

To begin with, the team will now seek permission from the Internal Review Board of the institute to start using this technique on patients.

Says Dr Trivedi, “Once we get the permissions, we should be able to treat the first 10 patients in a month or so."

The institute has decided to use this technique to treat children with diabetes first.

The treatment will initially cost about one lakh rupees and doctors hope that this will mean the final word in diabetes treatment.