Oz researchers claim that they may have found cure for Type 1 diabetes

Melbourne: Australian researchers have claimed to have made a breakthrough which could lead to treating the Type 1 diabetes patients. According to ABC report, scientists at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute said they have identified stem cells in the adult pancreas and converted them into insulin-producing cells. [caption id=“attachment_523883” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representative image. Reuters[/caption] They discovered the cells continued to function when they were transplanted into mice. Professor Len Harrison of the institute said that the finding has the potential to cure the disease. “This means that the potential to regenerate insulin-producing cells in someone with Type 1 diabetes is there. It’s a question of working out how to make that happen in order to reverse or cure it,” he said. Harrison said suppressing the immune system’s response to the new cells is pivotal. “There can really be no cure for Type 1 diabetes, even with stem cells, even under the most ideal conditions unless the immune system is prevented from seeing them as foreign and attacking them,” he said. Prevention of Type 1 diabetes is very fundamental to its cure, the researcher added. PTI