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Researchers found a cure for diabetes (in lab mice)

More than 34 million Americans have diabetes, approximately 10% of the population according to the American Diabetes Association. To date, the most common treatment has been to manage the disease with a carefully controlled diet and regular insulin shots, if needed. But a cure may be on the horizon.

A research team led by Jeffrey Millman at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri found last year that infusing mice with stem cells could offer a better treatment option.

Building on that research, the same team may have found a cure: at least in lab mice.

Diabetics are characterized by their difficulty producing or managing insulin. This requires careful monitoring, a strict diet, exercise, and expensive insulin shots — which many diabetics find themselves rationing due to the cost of drugs in the United States. Insulin is normally produced in the pancreas, but those with diabetes don’t produce enough of it. To treat diabetes, many diabetics have to monitor their blood sugar levels, and inject insulin directly into the bloodstream as needed. Millman’s treatment foregoes these shots and instead uses beta cells to secrete the insulin for you.

The treatment relies on induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells). These cells are essentially a blank slate and can be tricked into becoming almost any other type of cell in the body.