In an experiment once thought impossible, lab mice with full blown versions of of Type 1 Diabetes are regrowing their own islets, the cells responsible for producing insulin.
In addition Denise Faustman and colleagues at the Massachusetts General Hospital have rid the mice of the immune cells that attack the pancreas and the islets in the first place.Once the mutinous cells were eliminated,the researchers coaxed the mice's remaining immune cells to develop normally and specifically to refrain from attacking the islets.The once sickly mice have seen their blood sugar levels returning to normal and by most measures, the mice appeared to be cured of the disease.
