On the Nature of Things

A woman with type 1 diabetes started producing her own insulin less than three months after a transplant of reprogrammed stem cells. This case represents the first successful treatment for the disease using stem cells from the recipient’s own body, which could avoid the need for immunosuppressants. She was injected with the equivalent of 1.5 million stem-cell-derived islets in June 2023. While promising, the woman’s cells must continue to produce insulin for up to five years before considering her ‘cured’, cautions endocrinologist Jay Skyler.

Scientists have designed a new form of insulin that can automatically switch itself on and off depending on glucose levels in the blood. In animals, this ‘smart’ insulin1 reduced high blood-sugar concentrations effectively while preventing levels from dropping too low.