Type 1 Diabetes is Curable – Israeli Scientists

Israeli specialists have developed a technology that could change the lives of people with type 1 diabetes. It involves an artificial microorganism that performs the functions of the pancreas. After its implantation, the body will be able to independently assess and regulate blood glucose levels — without the need for constant insulin injections. According to the scientists, the new treatment may become available in the near future.

Without treatment, type 1 diabetes progresses rapidly, leading to severe complications, including stroke, kidney failure, and diabetic foot. To prevent these while maintaining basal blood glucose levels, diabetics must regularly inject insulin. To date, this is the only treatment that medicine can offer to people with this diagnosis.

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About the New Technology

The Israeli biotechnology company Betalin Therapeutics, which develops innovative solutions for treating diabetes, has proposed an alternative option that will free diabetics from the need for constant insulin intake. The company's specialists have created an artificial organ, which they call the world's first microscopic pancreas. It consists of lung tissue from pigs and insulin-secreting cells, and, according to the developers, will allow the body to independently measure and control blood sugar levels.

The lung tissue here serves as a kind of scaffold that keeps the pancreatic cells from breaking down, mimicking the extracellular environment. Previously, scientists had already implanted beta cells into people with type 1 diabetes, but this method, aside from its complexity, had a significant drawback: the transplanted cells broke down quite quickly, resulting in the treatment losing effectiveness, and most patients were forced to return to insulin injections within a year.

"The artificial pancreas we created is unique in that it functions as an independent organ, rather than a conglomerate of cells," says the author of the new technology, Professor Eduardo Mitrani from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. "Therefore, it can be placed in almost any part of the body." This technology ensures the viability of the cells and their long-term functionality.

Another drawback that the microscopic pancreas lacks is the risk of rejection of foreign tissue, which is a common problem in organ transplantation. To reduce this risk, patients must take immunosuppressive drugs for a long time. To address this issue, Betalin Therapeutics has signed a licensing agreement with the Hebrew University to use molecules extracted from cannabis, which will prevent the patient's body from rejecting the new pancreas.

Currently, animal trials of the new technology are complete. Clinical trials in humans are expected to begin next year and last for two years. If successful, the developers will be able to move on to the next stage — approval of the new artificial pancreas by regulatory authorities.

"Today, medicine can only control the course of the disease. "And it does this with the help of medications," says the company's director, Dr. Nikolai Kunisher. "The technology we propose fully restores the lost function of the pancreas, so the patient will never have to return to insulin therapy."

The developers assure that in the future, their technology could be used to treat other diseases caused by hormonal dysfunction.