Big news today on the stem cell front:
Diabetics using stem-cell therapy have been able to stop taking insulin injections for the first time, after their bodies started to produce the hormone naturally again.
In a breakthrough trial, 15 young patients with newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes were given drugs to suppress their immune systems followed by transfusions of stem cells drawn from their own blood.The results show that insulin-dependent diabetics can be freed from reliance on needles by an injection of their own stem cells. The therapy could signal a revolution in the treatment of the condition, which affects more than 300,000 Britons.
In this case the patients are being administered their own stem cells, but as far as politics goes, I'm not sure that much matters. If this treatment works on a widespread basis, it will be the first stem cell treatment that affects a sizable portion of the American electorate. For many people, the issue will go from something discussed to something lived. And usually, that makes all the difference.
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