This from the New England Council (newenglandcouncil.com):
"Boston Children’s Hospital recently cured type 1 diabetes in mice, bringing them one step closer to finding a cure for the disease in humans. cured type 1 diabetes in mice, bringing them one step closer to finding a cure for the disease in humans.
Researchers at the hospital have been working with mice on an immunotherapy treatment that replaces a genetic defect in blood stem cells with the patient’s own blood cells. The hospital discovered a genetic defect that decreases the PD-L1 protein therefore weakening the patient’s immune system and causing the disease. The mice that were infused with their own blood cells were all cured in the short-term and one third of the mice were cured for the rest of their lives. In initial human trials, the treatment met all FDA requirements and found no adverse effects, but more research is required to establish the ideal frequency of the treatment. Boston Children’s is currently working with Fate Therapeutics to optimize the treatment.
“We think resolution of (this problematic gene) may provide a novel therapeutic tool for the disease,” said Moufida Ben Nasr, a leading researcher with Boston Children’s Hospital.''
