Lexington, MA (PRWEB) March 9, 2011
Store-A-Tooth (TM) commends the scientists who report in the Journal of Dental Research (JDR) that stem cells from teeth
can be transformed into cells that produce insulin in a
glucose-dependent manner–a significant step toward developing stem-cell
therapies for diabetes.(1)
The finding is particularly important for type 1 diabetes,
which results from a failure of the pancreas to produce enough insulin,
the hormone that plays a vital role in the body’s use of glucose (blood
sugar). In the United States alone,the CDC estimates that nearly one
million people have type 1 diabetes, with more than 15,000 children and
teenagers newly diagnosed each year.(2) Intensive research is under way
to determine whether insulin-producing cells derived from stem cells
might one day be used as part of a cure for type 1 diabetes.
“This work is further evidence that research into medical as well as
dental applications of stem cells from teeth, though early, is steadily
progressing toward what we believe will be a new generation of therapies
for conditions that impact millions of Americans. We are pleased to
see dental stem cell
research aimed at one of the most serious diseases affecting young
people: type 1 diabetes,” said Peter Verlander, Ph.D., chief scientific
officer of Provia Laboratories, LLC.
