(Montreal) The rapid acceleration of scientific knowledge in stem cells and regenerative medicine suggests that insulin dependence may one day be a thing of the past for patients with type 1 diabetes.
Among the researchers who want to position themselves at the forefront of the quest for a cure for this autoimmune disease, we find Yasaman Aghazadeh. Having just arrived at the Montreal Clinical Research Institute (IRCM), she will lead the new Regenerative Medicine Research Unit for Diabetes.
Holder of a doctorate in experimental medicine from McGill University, she has been working for eight years on the regeneration of pancreatic tissue using stem cells. Research undertaken at the McEwen Stem Cell Institute in Toronto.
When everything is working normally, it is the beta cells inside the pancreas that produce the insulin that helps the body regulate blood sugar levels. In patients with type 1 diabetes, the immune system attacks the beta cells, preventing them from performing their role.
Currently, we manage to control the effects of this disease by regular injections of insulin. However, this treatment proves to be cumbersome in the long term for people who must strictly respect it all their lives.
Another type of treatment has recently been developed in Edmonton. It consists of a transplant of islets of Langerhans, a group of cells that includes beta cells.
Although promising, this treatment is limited by too few donors. In addition, since type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease, the patient must undergo immunosuppressive treatment before the transplant. A protocol that carries high risks of side effects and which is difficult for patients.
The solution to circumvent these obstacles would be to produce beta cells from stem cells and make them undetectable for the immune system.
It is precisely this challenge that Yasaman Aghazadeh’s team hopes to meet.
Over the next few years, the researcher hopes to be able to recreate complex pancreatic tissues, equipped with vascular networks, and above all to demystify all the cellular functioning of the pancreas.
If she succeeds, her work could eventually turn into a clinical study and possibly change the lives of millions of people.
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