Stem cells from teeth could help combat diabetes

(Source: Diabetes News, 11 March 2011)
A new study has found that dental stem cells could offer a possible treatment for type 1 diabetes, it has emerged. It is hoped that the research, which revealed that transforming stem cells from teeth into cells that produce insulin, could provide a potential cure for the disease.

People who suffer from type 1 diabetes have pancreases that make little or no insulin, which means they cannot regulate their blood sugar levels without the use of insulin injections. The scientists, whose work was published in the Journal of Dental Research, showed that dental stem cells could be used to generate cells that produce insulin when are exposed to more glucose. Read more