Healing Diabetes with Stem Cells

Diabetes refers a group of diseases chiefly characterized by abnormally high levels of the sugar glucose in the bloodstream. The excessive glucose is actually responsible for most of the complications of diabetes, which include heart disease, stroke, nerve damage (neuropathy), eye damage (retinopathy) that can culminate in blindness, kidney failure and amputations. There are two (2) principle forms of the disease: Type 1 AKA juvenile-onset diabetes that typically affects children and young adults. And type 2 called adult-onset diabetes which generally affects older, sedentary, and overweight persons with a family history of the condition.

Type I diabetes arises when the body’s immune system sees its own insulin-producing islet cells as foreign and attacks and destroys them. In the absence of insulin, glucose cannot enter cells normally and winds up accumulating in the blood.

Type 2 diabetes occurs when the body cannot use insulin effectively (A condition referred to in medical parlance as “insulin resistance”). The end result is the same as with type 1 diabetes—namely, a build-up of glucose in the blood and the very real potential for tissue and organ damage.

Standard Treatment for Diabetes

The standard medical treatment for type 1 diabetes is insulin injections several times a day for life with careful monitoring of blood glucose concentrations. The monitoring aspect is vital as sufferers who keep their blood glucose level as close to normal as possible can significantly reduce the long term complications of diabetes, such as retinopathy and heart disease. Folks saddled with type 2 diabetes can often control their blood glucose level through a combination of diet, exercise, and specific oral medications. Unfortunately Type 2 diabetes can and often does progress to the point where only insulin therapy is sufficient to control blood glucose levels.

Alternative Treatments for Diabetes

Thankfully there are a number of scientific promising treatments for diabetic complications as well as diabetes itself. For instance, there is evidence that hyperbaric oxygen therapy can benefit diabetic neuropathy; especially if used as part of a comprehensive care program that includes such things as nutrition & fitness counseling, use of natural compounds and botanic medicines that have been shown to modulate blood glucose concentration, and External Counterpulsation therapy. This powerful comprehensive therapeutic approach is exactly what pioneering physician Dr. David Steenblock offers at his clinic. You can learn more by calling 1-949-367-8870 or by using this on-line contact form which can be readily accessed by clicking this link. And be sure to check out what one diabetic patient had to say about the results he got from this clinic’s comprehensive care:  Click to access testimonial.

In addition to the aforementioned complementary treatment approaches, evidence points to the healing power of adult (non-embryonic) stem cells for diabetes. You can get a feel for this by clicking this link.

With respect to Type 1 diabetes: A 2007 study published in JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association) and summarized for lay-people in numerous articles including “Diabetics cured in stem-cell treatment advance” which appeared in The Times on April 11 (2007) underscore the tremendous therapeutic power  of adult stem cells.  These excerpts from The Times article spell this out beautifully:

“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.”

“Richard Burt, a co-author of the study from Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, said that 14 of the 15 patients were insulin-free for some time following the treatment. Eleven of those were able to dispense with supplemental insulin immediately following the infusion of stem cells and have not had recourse to synthetic insulin since then, he said.”

Interestingly, there is evidence that the mesenchymal stem cells in bone marrow, fat and cord blood ably dampens the autoimmune processes associated with type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis and more.

There are also clear indications that adult stem cells, especially those contained in bone marrow, produce healing in Type 2 diabetics.  In one study carried out in Argentina doctors actually implanted bone marrow derived stem cell into the pancreas of diabetic patients. This brought about a host of improvements including production of endogenous (self) insulin with corresponding decreases “in blood glucose levels and glycated hemoglobin levels faster than other treatments. 84% of the patients that had received the autologous bone marrow cells could also abandon the drugs that stimulate insulin production or the insulin that they had been receiving previously.” This is attributed by many experts to the regenerative effect of the stem cells on these diabetic patients insulin secreting cells in the pancreas.

The use of pure bone marrow derived stem cells for diabetes is currently confined to clinical studies in the US. However, doctors can do whole bone marrow transplants in which stem cell rich bone marrow tissue is harvested and given back by IV drip. Dr. David Steenblock has done over 1000 such whole bone marrow transplants to-date for a wide variety of health challenges including diabetes with often dramatic results. In addition, he has figured out how to employ various FDA approved stem cell activating and mobilizing drugs in such a way as to greatly increase the number and vitality of older patient’s bone marrow stem cells. This is discussed in this issue of his clinic’s newsletter: http://stemcell.md/newsletters/nov2010.pdf.

If you are interested in learning more about Dr. Steenblock’s comprehensive treatment approach to diabetes call 1-800-300-1063 or e-mail info@stemcell.md.