Potential bone marrow stem cell treatment for patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM), the most common type of diabetes in the world, is a disease that prevents the body from producing enough insulin or making proper use of insulin, allowing high levels of glucose in the blood and not enough in the cells to be used as energy. This disease has become a worldwide problem, and in Mexico, the incidence of cases has been increasing every year.

A clinical study performed at the Vinmec Research Institute of Stem Cell and Gene Technology, located in Hanoi, Vietnam, has shown that the use of mesenchymal/ stromal stem cells, derived from the patient’s bone marrow could represent a good therapy option for the treatment of type 2 DM.

The effects, although currently for the short-term, were observed in non-obese patients younger than 10 years old with a diagnosis of type 2 DM (body mass index less than 23 kg/m2). A reduction in blood glucose concentration was seen during the first 3 months post-administration, as well as a temporary reduction in the dosage of their diabetes medication. However, glycosylated hemoglobin values returned to previous average levels after six months. In addition, this line of treatment was proven to be safe as there were no serious adverse events during the study nor the subsequent one-year follow-up of patients.

Written by Jocelyn Robles Biotechnology engineer by training, with a concentration in molecular biology from Tec de Monterrey. She is currently a Specialist in Initiation and Closure of Studies at CidVID Investigación Biomédica.

Sources:

http://revistamedica.imss.gob.mx/editorial/index.php/revista_medica/article/view/390/877 https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/informacion-de-la-salud/diabetes/informacion-general/que-es/ diabetes-tipo-2 https://stemcellsjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/sctm.20-0506 https://www.genengnews.com/news/type-2-diabetes-patients-can-benefit-from-stem-cell-transplants/