The 25-year-old lady has endured terrible medical experiences for decades.
She was identified as having Type 1 diabetes eleven years ago. She was born in Tianjin, a city located about two hours west of Beijing. Her body’s immune system viciously assaults the insulin-producing cells in her pancreas due to a chronic autoimmune condition, causing blood sugar levels to skyrocket fatally—even after a few bites of rice.
Her blood sugar levels persisted in being unstable even after receiving two liver transplants and a full pancreas transplant. Because the replacement pancreas was generating potentially fatal blood clots, it had to be removed. Reaching her breaking point, she agreed to participate in an extremely experimental process. Her body’s fatty cells would be extracted by scientists, who would then transform them into tissues that could produce insulin and implant them into her abdomen.
In just three months, her body began producing insulin to the point she no longer relied on external insulin shots to manage blood sugar levels. The transplanted cells lasted at least one year—when the study ended—with no signs of waning efficacy and few side effects.
The transplants restored the woman’s ability to process sugar and carbohydrates to that of non-diabetic people, according to a measure for long-term blood sugar stability. In a sense, it reversed her condition completely.
“I can now have sugar…I love to eat all kinds of food, but mainly hotpot,” she said to Nature.
The study’s primary component is induced pluripotent stem cells, which change mature cells into a condition akin to stem cells. Scientists can then encourage these cells to develop into various tissues or organs by using a chemical soup.
The research, which was released in Cell, represents the most recent attempt to treat diabetes with technology.
“The patient, who was previously requiring significant amounts of insulin, has had their diabetes completely reversed,” said James Shapiro of the University of Alberta, who was not involved in the study.