Stem Cell Therapy for Diabetes Essay

There is a device called the bionic pancreas that is being developed by Ed Damiano, whose son, David was diagnosed with diabetes in 2000, gave him the inspiration to find a cure. For nearly fifteen years he has been researching and working on this project. There have been hundreds of successful trials of people with diabetes using the bionic pancreas and the feedback has been mostly positive. Some say the device as life changing. “At the end of one recent trial, an 11-year-old boy liked the bionic pancreas so much that he ran away from the investigators conducting the test, and it took them over an hour to get the device back" (Sifferlin 42+). There has been progress in all types of people. Sifferlin says "The bionic pancreas has successfully worked in people ages 6-76 and weighing 47 lb. to 283 lb." (42+). The bionic pancreas does also have a pain free, easy method of glucose testing since the device checks it continuously. The only requirement for the device to work properly is simply punching in the person's weight (Russell et al. 2148). Unlike the bionic pancreas, islet cell transplantation is limited in becoming a global treatment because of the lack of supply of islet cells. This is due to the fact that there are more people with type 1 diabetes than there are donor pancreases (Islet Transplantation). The bionic pancreas does not have limitations on the device itself that would prevent it from being produced all over the world. In other words, with proper funding the bionic pancreas can be produced for all diabetics. Damiano hopes to have the bionic pancreas affordable and on the market by

Embryonic stem cells have numerous and amazing uses. Stem cells are unspecialized cells with the ability to replicate and renew themselves. They have the ability to transform into many kinds of cell types within the human body. They divide and create a new cell, having the potential to infinitely replenish cells. There are two types of stem cells: embryonic and somatic. Embryonic stem cells are from a fetus and can become all cell types in the body. Somatic stem cells are from an adult and can become only certain things due to the origin of the cells. Scientifically

Any time someone had to get a lung transplanted there would be no need to find a donor; and once the lung was transplanted, the patient would not have to receive drugs afterwards, because his immune system would automatically accept the lung. Also, organs that cannot possibly be donated and accepted in a new body, like spinal tissue, could be duplicated. This means if an individual was paralyzed, hers or his spinal tissue could be duplicated by stem cells and then transplanted. In addition, it may become possible, with embryonic stem cells, to generate healthy heart muscle cells in the laboratory and then transplant those cells into patients with chronic heart disease. Through the use of embryonic stem cells, brain cells and many other cells can be cultured and then transplanted into a patient to cure Alzheimer's disease and other brain and heart related diseases. A person diagnosed with diabetes, a disease in which a person is unable to produce insulin, can have cells cultured to form insulin producing cells and have them transplanted. Because of the limited number of cells adult stem cells are able to produce; these diseases would be unable to be cured through their use. Stem cells could also be used to test new drugs. With this achievement scientists could be able to cure cancer and many other diseases. This would reduce the view of cancer as a fatal disease, to something that can be overcome, such as a common cold. Patients

Many, as of currently incurable diseases plague the Earth. Thanks to technological advancements and better understandings of cells, scientists believe that it may be possible to cure diseases by the use of embryonic stem cells. Embryonic stem cells are cells obtained from an embryo when they are only a few days old. Because they have only begun to differentiate, these cells have the capability of developing into any cell in the human body, and that's why they can be used for the progression of medicine. Scientists hope to cure some diseases but if that isn't possible they at least hope to create treatments using them.

Stem cells are used in treating different diseases because embryonic cells can form into the cell type needed, then those cells replace the ones that were damaged by the disease. They can be used in a bone marrow transplant.

Diabetes mellitus, is the fancy way to say diabetes but many people referred it as diabetes. Diabetes is a group of metabolic diseases which can cause you to have high blood sugar levels over a long period. The two main types of diabetes are type 1 and type 2. Type 1 results from the pancreas's failure to produce enough insulin. This form was previously referred to as "insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus" or "juvenile diabetes". The cause is unknown. Type 2 begins with insulin resistance, a condition in which the cells fail to respond to insulin properly. There is no known preventive for type 1 diabetes, Or Type 2 diabetes which accounts for 85-90% of all cases can often be prevented or delayed by maintaining a normal body weight, engaging

Diabetes is a disease in which the body has an inability to produce any or enough insulin which will cause the blood sugar to spike or rise rapidly. There are two different types of diabetes as mentioned The first type is type one which is when the person’s pancreas cannot produce any insulin cells at all and when it comes to type two, their body produces some insulin but due to reasons like weight or food habits, their body can’t produce enough properly. All in all, people with both types of diabetes struggle to produce insulin. “ The stomach and small intestine convert the carbohydrates you eat into glucose, a kind of sugar. Glucose is the body’s main fuel. When released into the bloodstream as “blood sugar,” glucose circulates through the body and feeds the cells. Insulin enables cells to take that glucose in.”(Teen Health and Wellness). This is important because everyone in the world has this

First of all an understanding of what a stem cell is, where it comes from, and the significance of it's medical potential is essential. Stem cells are the "master cells" that form the human body or whatever other animal it is from. Stem cells can be extracted from adult tissues, bone marrow, umbilical cord blood ( ), and embryos in the blastocyst stage. Although scientists have found ways to manipulate the stem cells from adult sources into other types of cells, they claim that they are less capable of deriving the desired tissue and are not "biologically equivalent" ( ) to stem cells extracted from embryos.

According to Embryonic stem cell therapy ‘best route’ it states “ if transplanted, these cells might halt and even cure patients of diseases such as type 1 diabetes, parkinson’s disease or heart failure.” This supports my claim because it shows that stem cells could stop some diseases that could kill someone. Also it shows that there is a way to stop parkinson’s

stem cells were discovered a long ago that they can be beneficial for fighting against the killer diseases but after passing of two decades of the discovery it has been profound that (hESCs) are being tried as a treatment for two noteworthy illnesses: heart fail and type 1 diabetes.

Diabetes is a chronic disease in which a person’s glucose (blood sugar) is higher than normal. After our bodies have digested foods and turned them into sugar, the pancreas produces insulin. Insulin helps the body take sugar (blood sugar) out of the bloodstream and helps to shuttle it into our cells to be used for energy. If a person has diabetes, their bodies either doesn’t make enough insulin (Type II) or the body doesn’t use the insulin as it should (Type I). Either of these conditions can result in high sugar (glucose) levels (CDC, 2013).

From the medical perspective, stem cell research is viewed as very promising due to the fact that if stem cells can be introduced into patients with a range of illnesses, they could possible help regenerate the tissues and organs of the patients and thereby help heal illnesses (and especially degenerative illnesses) that are currently incurable. For example, Lovell-Badge has indicated that diabetes, Parkinson's disease, and Huntington's disease are among the illnesses that could

Stem cells have a plethora of side effects that over powers the benefits. The ability to differentiate is known as plasticity, and it is thought to only be at its greatest in embryonic stem cells. In order for the embryonic cells to be of use they must be fertilized, after which, the stem cell is removed, destroying the embryo. Stem cells can be used in adults; however it is believed through the consensus of the medical community that the plasticity of embryonic stem cells is not even closely matched by those of adult stem cells. The general idea is that “adult stem cells have a limited capacity to differentiate (Solter 8).” Adult stem cells are already stuck in their ways, which makes it useless, in a way. They can only reproduce the same cell type that they originate from. Thus, despite the prospecting medical leaps that this technology can provide, the process of how to obtain the embryonic stem cells overwhelms the benefits by far.

     Diabetes is a chronic condition in which the body produces too little insulin (Type One Diabetes) or can’t use available insulin efficiently ( Type Two Diabetes). Insulin is a hormone vital to helping the body use digested food for growth and energy.

There are two types of diabetes: Type I and Type II that operate in slightly different manners. Type II is a result of an overload of insulin in the body, causing the immune system to attack the ?-cells whereas Type I is a result of an inability to produce insulin. Type I Diabetes is a chronic disease that is usually diagnosed in childhood and has a proven hereditary and genetic link. (ADA, 2005). Hence, current research on gene therapy is focused on the genes that can cause Type I Diabetes. In the last decade, gene therapy has emerged as an effective and very probable means of clinical intervention for victims of this life-altering disease. Gene therapy involves the integration of manipulated genetic material such as proteins or DNA into a cell to change its function. (Rudolph et al., 1996).