Word: celling
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...research team, led by Dr. Julio Voltarelli of the University of Sao Paulo, is the first to successfully treat type 1 diabetes patients with their own stem cells. The group first reported its initial achievement in 2007, with 15 type 1 diabetes patients who received their own stem cells and no longer needed insulin to control their blood sugar levels. In the new study, a follow-up of their previous work, Voltarelli and his colleagues detailed the same success with an additional eight patients, and also confirmed that in the majority of them, the stem cell transplant...
That's a milestone in diabetes treatment. Type I diabetes patients are locked in a constant struggle to maintain their body's insulin levels. Since their beta cells no longer produce the hormone on their own, patients must supply it themselves with multiple injections throughout the day and night, or using an insulin pump that dispenses insulin automatically through a permanent tube under the skin. Voltarelli's stem cell strategy provides a life-changing alternative that would take the burden off the patient and put it back where it belongs, on the beta cells...
That's the theory. But some experts point out that, in practice, stem cell transplants are not always a home run. For one, transplantation is a grueling and toxic process in which a portion of the body's tissues - the immune system - is destroyed with dangerous radiation. Then, there is the question of timing. In most cases, patients with type 1 diabetes do not show symptoms of their disease - such as high blood sugar levels - until they have depleted their beta cell population considerably. Dr. David Nathan, director of the diabetes center at Massachusetts General Hospital, notes that at this...
Voltarelli's team, however, has managed to show that the stem cells can give long-lasting beta cells a chance to grow - at least ones that can produce insulin for about three years. Other researchers are pursuing intriguing new stem cell options, including stem cells that can be grown from a patient's own skin, which would eliminate the need for extracting immune stem cells from bone marrow. "Every door that we open leads to another door," says Burt. "All research is built by sitting on the shoulders of other studies. This trial is something that will contribute...
With that in mind, the Obama Administration on Monday lifted restrictions on Cuban-American family visits and remittances to family members in Cuba. It also announced measures to get broader cell-phone and television service to Cubans, which White House officials said would "open the flow of information" on the island. Either way, many hope Monday's moves will eventually lead to a dismantling of the trade embargo. But the moves should at least be followed this year by an end to the travel ban for the rest of the U.S. population - that is, if Obama throws his support behind...