Pancreatic stem cells: building blocks for a better surrogate islet to treat type 1 diabetes

Type 1, insulin-dependent, diabetes is one of the more costly chronic disea ses of children, adolescents and adults in Europe and North America. While routine insulin injections currently provide diabetic patients with their d aily insulin requirements, blood glucose excursions are common, leading eve ntually to microvascular and macrovascular complications and early death. A 'cure' for Type 1 diabetes relies on replacement of the beta-cell mass whi ch, today, is accomplished by pancreas transplants or islets of Langerhans implants. Recent advances in the isolation of stem cells that possess the c apacity to differentiate to functional endocrine pancreas provide new oppor tunities to produce large numbers of islets, even autologous islets, that c an be used as implants. We discuss briefly this new technology and its mean ing for diabetes.