Type 1 Diabetes is an autoimmune condition wherein the immune system attacks and destroys the beta cells in the pancreas. These cells are responsible for producing insulin, the hormone that process glucose in the blood..A recent research study on mice, published in the journal Science Translational Medicine, has found that inducing beta cells using an implant may help reverse Type 1 Diabetes. A team of scientists have developed an implant callednanofibre-integrated cell encapsulation (NICE) device to provide beta cells in the body without triggering the immune system.The implant is made of medical-grade microplastic material, of the width of few hair strands and can be placed in the system laparoscopically. The research study has found that the implant can produce stem cell-derived beta cells for up to 200 days without the administration of immunosuppressant drugs. Further studies are being carried out to understand the efficacy of the implant in the long term.
