Have you ever wondered why it is so difficult to cure diabetes? The diabetes it has become an epidemic, condemning more than 460 million people worldwide to medication for life. Science is striving to find a diabetes treatment that can cure this chronic disease, but we are NOT close yet.
Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disorder
Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disorder involving insufficient or no insulin, or incorrect use of insulin. This causes blood sugar (glucose) levels to rise (hyperglycaemia).
Type 1 diabetes has no cure, but other types (type 2 and gestational diabetes) can be controlled with diet, insulin, maintaining a healthy weight. As well as exercise and healthy lifestyles, depending on the type of diabetes.
Diabetes is the leading cause of blindness
On the other hand, it is important to know that diabetes is the leading cause of blindness, kidney failure, heart attack and stroke. It is estimated that the number of people affected by diabetes will rise to 700 million in 2045.
This has led the World Health Organization to consider diabetes as an epidemic.
Despite its enormous impact on the world’s population, there is still no cure for any type of diabetes. Most treatments help patients control symptoms to some degree, but diabetics still face multiple long-term health complications.
Curing diabetes: Biotech industry scrambles to develop new treatments
Diabetes affects the regulation of insulin, a hormone required for glucose uptake into cells. Resulting in high blood sugar levels. While there are some similarities in symptoms, the two main types of diabetes develop in different ways.
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease that destroys the insulin-producing beta cells of the pancreas. In contrast, patients with type 2 diabetes develop insulin resistance, which means that insulin is less and less effective at lowering blood sugar.
The biotech industry is striving to develop new treatments for diabetes and is chasing the holy grail: a cure.
What is it about?
Replacement of missing cells with cell therapy
Although still in the early stages of development, cell therapy holds one of the best hopes for developing a cure for diabetes, especially type 1 diabetes. Replacing missing insulin-producing cells could restore normal insulin production and cure patients.
However, early attempts to transplant pancreatic cells have largely failed, primarily due to immune reactions that reject and destroy the implanted cells. The lack of donors is also a limitation.
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