Doug Melton, co-director of the Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI) and his post-doctoral fellow, Peng Yi have just identified a hormone, called betatrophin, naturally present in humans. This hormone increases the levels of beta cells, present in the pancreas, which secrete insulin,peptide hormone to regulate the level of glucose in the blood . Betatrophin could therefore help people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes, by compensating for their insufficient insulin production.
After 5 years of publicly funded research on mice, human clinical trials should begin within 3 to 5 years.
An injection of betatrophin could treat people suffering from type 2 diabetes because it will then make insulin-secreting cells and thus avoid daily insulin injections.
These studies are, for the moment, based on the treatment of type 2 diabetes, but these two Harvard researchers believe that betatrophin could also cure type 1 diabetes.
Maud Driant – PasseportSanté.net
Sources: Harvard Stem Cell Institute
