Can Stem Cells Cure Both Type 1 & 2 Diabetes? The New Transplant Ending Insulin Shots
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Jon Skelton, MD: All right. Welcome back to The Living Life Well Show. Today, I'm really excited to bring you some information that is really mind-blowing, really exciting for diabetics. Almost sci-fi like if you will, and in some ways essentially seeing maybe the fountain of youth. So, with that being said, let, let's jump right in.
So, we've all heard about transplants. Transplants for kidneys, heart transplants many other type of transplants, e- even corneas for your eyes. And so transplanting is something that has been around for years and years. And we have seen that it can really help really extend life and health to people who are severely ill and severely compromised.
However, it typically always comes with a bit of a cost, meaning [00:01:00] that you are having to be placed on immunosuppressive drugs. These drugs can come with nasty side effects, most importantly of which and most commonly of which we see is secondary infection. You- your body is recognizing that new organ as foreign to you.
It does not have the same DNA. It came from someone else. And so your body, the way God made us, is that when it finds a foreign substance in you, whether it's a, a heart that was donated, a kidney, a corneas different other organ systems- Your body says, "Hey, this isn't us. This is a foreign invader.
We need to attack." Same way it would attack a virus or bacteria that got into your body as well. And so for patients that have Type 1 diabetes or Type 2 diabetes that [00:02:00] has progressed so significantly that their pancreas has now not been able to make any of the beta islet cells, which is where insulin production comes from, there is a new transplant that is very exciting.
A study that was done in two- twenty twenty-five and recently published shows what we call autologous transplant is now possible. Well, well, what does autologous mean? Autologous basically means that it's from your own body. It's from your own cells. And so what they are doing is they are taking stem cells, differentiating those specifically to the beta islet cells of the pancreas that produce insulin, and putting them back into your body.
And this has resulted, so far in the study, at one [00:03:00] year with these patients still producing their own insulin, still now being insulin-free. And so for patients that have Type 1 diabetes, which usually is going to occur earlier in life, think, think children, think y- young adults typically is where we see this- This is a game changer.
These patients are not typically on any kind of oral medications or anything like that. They are solely on insulin, and so they rely on insulin every single day to really balance those blood sugars to keep them out of the danger zone. Type 2 diabetics are a little bit different, right? So Type 2 diabetics, many still produce their own insulin and many produce plenty of insulin.
However, there can be a state where other infections [00:04:00] come in and/or just a long period of time of the diabetes and the beta cells start to die off within the pancreas and/or are not producing insulin at the level that they need. And so insulin is then introduced into these Type 2 diabetics. Well, again, this is very exciting for both of these classes of, of patients that have some sort of true, true insulin-dependent diabetes because of lack of production from the pancreas.
Well, th- this study comes with some exciting possibilities, but also some cautions. This is essentially taking your own cells from the skin, in this case, reverting them to a state that are undifferentiated. [00:05:00] Now they don't know that they're skin cells. It could be any cell. Much like when we take cord blood and take stem cells or have done stem cells for other types of things that you've heard of in the past, growing different organs, things like that.
This is essentially what we're talking about. Well, what's done is these, these stem cells are taken. They are then put back into a state called pluripotent, meaning they can become any type of cell in the body, and then a small molecules are added to the cell to turn them into the beta islet cells of the pancreas.
Then they are put back into your body, and then they start then producing the insulin, the job that a beta islet cell is designed to produce. Well, there's several different molecules that are, that are currently used. E- even things like vitamin C [00:06:00] or valproic acid which valproic acid is, is an older drug that we've used in the past for epilepsy.
And then there are several other different types of molecules that are typically just used in the lab to help create this process. Once these are then changed into the beta islet cells they are then washed clean and then they are placed back into the body, and then this starts the process.
Now, generally speaking, This is a much more low-risk way of getting a transplant and not having to be on immunosuppressive drugs. Being on immunosuppressive drugs comes with potential consequence. And so this is why we have not really seen this process with regards to diabetics because we have had medications, [00:07:00] specifically insulin, that can treat this and it can be given exogenously without having to undergo a transplant like you would for a heart or kidney.
And so this is a new frontier that really is quite amazing and essentially is almost in many ways like finding a fountain of youth, if you will. Now, you know, on this show, we really look at, you know, where we are the potential for help and the potential for hurt. And in this case, for type one diabetics and for type two diabetics that are insulin de-dependent, there's both, right?
There is great potential for extreme help for these type one diabetics not going into DKA any longer because their body is now producing insulin. The-- These people can [00:08:00] potentially be completely insulin-free. The same is true for these diabetics that started out as type two.
Their body was producing good insulin, but over time, that production has either fallen off or is completely nonexistent, and now they are having to use exogenous insulin. So this has the potential to be a extreme game changer, a life giver to all of these potential patients extending life. Now, we are altering Our own DNA.
That is the good news. The bad news is as we age, our DNA changes, right? As we age, there can become a shortening of the telomeres. This is the end of the strands of the DNA that are protective. As those strands these protective ends of the DNA shrink, then [00:09:00] that is where the potential for the DNA to get transcribed incorrectly or copied incorrectly and could, in theory, produce a potential for developing a tumor or cancer even.
And so this is less of a risk when you're using your own DNA than it is someone else's DNA, but it's still not zero. Now, in the study again, thus far at a year follow-up no signs of tumors, no signs of anything like that at all. Now, however, so what does this mean for patients that have successfully undergone this treatment?
Well, this is life-giving. This is-- opens up a brand-new world to them. And with that is gonna come some caution, right? Because now their body has these [00:10:00] beta islet cells that produce the insulin that they need. However, the same things that happen to that Type 2 diabetic could now potentially happen to this Type 1 diabetic who is now not a diabetic as well.
As we continue to pursue that standard American diet that's rich in sugar and carbs and processed-- ultra-processed foods, we still run that same risk of now going in and developing Type 2 diabetes and then ruining what we've just been given, this huge gift. This, this opening of science that has created the potential for you to be off of medications now.
So any time anyone is [00:11:00] looking at this, i-if you are a Type 1 diabetic, if you know of a Type 1 diabetic and/or even a Type 2 diabetic who has been shown to have little to no insulin function, you know, measuring that fasting insulin level measuring the C-peptide to see how well or if any of their insulin is being utilized appropriately.
Those could be indications that they may be considered for this. They are still having these studies that are ongoing, and so they're looking for type 1 and type 2 diabetics that are in the early stages of diabetes, more like five to, to possibly up to, to 10 years in length. And this would be something that if you know someone that fits this category this would be something to, to check out for yourself.[00:12:00]
So if you or a loved one fits kind of this criteria, Vertex Pharmaceuticals is the one that's conducting this study. There may be others as well. You could go to clinicaltrials.gov and look at the different clinical trials surrounding diabetes. You're going to want to be looking for VX-880. That is the study that is being done with the stem cells.
Or you can go to breakthrought1d.org and go to their clinical trials page as well, and find there where you could possibly sign up for yourself or for your loved one to see if they would qualify for these studies. It's currently a phase III study, so it's moving along pretty well. And so hopefully, as this these studies progress, this will be out there to the [00:13:00] general public to be able to obtain.
So if, if you or a loved one are suffering with diabetes and specifically whether you're on insulin or, or not, there are things that, that can be done, whether you're type 1 diabetic or type 2 diabetic, to help lower that need for insulin, to help increase your body's utilization of blood sugar in an appropriate manner, regardless of your body's ability to produce insulin.
And for, for those that are type 2 diabetics that are early on and not insulin dependent yet, there is real hope that you could p- completely get off of medications and really live a lifestyle that is completely independent of these medications and really prolong not only your, your lifespan, but your health [00:14:00] span.
That ability to live and do all the things that you want as healthy as possible for as long as possible. And if you or someone else that you know might be interested more, to find out more about this, please schedule a discovery call with us.
You can go to livelifewellclinic.com and schedule a free discovery call with us there. Or if you're interested in just learning about the healthy lifestyle and different approaches that you can take to really help eliminate your need for, for medications you can start with us down our Metabolic Reset program.
It's about a, a eight to, to ten week course that you go through where we really talk you through and walk you through the things that you can do to take control of your health now to either prevent- getting into a situation where you have insulin resistance and, and diabetes, or walk [00:15:00] that back to varying degrees and sometimes completely reverse it.
So, I hope that you found this beneficial. I hope that you found it informative, and thanks and God bless
That's it for this episode of the Living Life Well show. If you like what you've heard and want to learn more or want to know how to put this into practice for yourself, go to livelifewellclinic.com. Until next time, this is Dr. Jon Skelton saying, go out and live the truth so you can live life well.
