New Treatment Can Control Type 2 Diabetes For Months In A Single Procedure

A new way of treating type 2 diabetes could become a reality in the future, if it is up to Technion, Israel Institute of Technology. The project’s promise is to use muscle cell autograft to absorb sugar at great rates.

Type 2 diabetes is a disease caused by insulin resistance and a low ability of cells to absorb sugar, resulting in chronic excess blood glucose. The condition is incurable and, without proper treatment, the patient can suffer from heart disease, stroke, vision loss, kidney failure, among other damages.

The new treatment project, led by Professor Shulamit Levenberg, was tested in mice. After a single procedure, the animals had normal blood sugar levels for months. To achieve this result, the team of scientists isolated mouse muscle cells, programming them to present more insulin-activated sugar transporters.

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Afterwards, the cells were cultured to develop muscle tissue, being transported back to the abdomens of rats with type 2 diabetes. The rodents were monitored for four months and, over the period, blood sugar levels remained low. In addition, liver fat levels, which can be high as a result of the disease, have also been reduced.

Levenberg explains that by removing the patient’s cells, it is possible to treat them and eliminate the risk of rejection. These cells then easily reintegrate into the body to respond to normal activity.

The study was published in the scientific journal Science Advances.