Viacyte to the resucue..... well hopefully

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Guys this is one of the companies that has been plugging away at diabetes for many years. They were previously Novocell and surprisingly backed by the JDRF. They are working with Embryonic stem cells which would allow them an endless supply. They also have an encapsulation device where the stem cells will lodge so no need for anti rejection drugs. The way this looks, this could be the answer getting past the roadblocks to finally being able to commercialize a valid transplant treatment. Still this would not be a true cure as the underlying disease is still there but if they can offer a cost effective treatment that gets us off insulin I want to be first in line. They are hoping to start clinical trials by mid 2013. Even though this is a long way off for the entire community I can't wait to hear that someone is actually getting off the bottle and able to down an entire chocolate cake. Here is the latest article.

http://onlineathens.com/health/2011-12-06/athens-lab-tackles-diabetes

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Interesting article Gary, it would be great if it works. A life without insuln and no transplant rejection would be a true blessing for all T1's and maybe insulin dependent T2's as well. Let's hope it comes to pass. Thanks for bringing this article to our attention.

Gary S

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thanks, gary. i hope you're first in line too. :)

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Exciting research. Here's hoping. Seems like hope is all we have on the research front. We'd all be thrilled for self-regulating BG without injected insulin.

Unfortunate that the author choose to include "unlike Type 2 diabetes, the disease is not the result of lifestyle choices like a poor diet and lack of exercise." Arrrgh!

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I agree, Arrrgh!