"A new type of stem cell treatment for people with type  diabetes appears to help reeducate rogue immune system cells which allows cells in the pancreas to start producing insulin again.  The treatment which combines a patients immune system cells with stem cells from a donors cord blood even worked in people with longstanding diabetes who were believed to have no insulinproducing ability.  Although the treatment didnt wean anyone off insulin completely average blood sugar levels dropped significantly which would reduce the risk of longterm complications.  Our study brings a new hope for people with type  diabetes. If we can control the autoimmunity we may reverse the diabetes. We showed that the islets cells can start to work again said Dr. Yong Zhao an assistant professor in the section of endocrinology diabetes and metabolism at the University of Illinois at Chicago.  This treatment could potentially be useful in other autoimmune diseases such as lupus and rheumatoid arthritis.  Its quite remarkable that this approach based on the reeducation of immune cells might work so well. The concept is very intriguing and the treatment seems to be so simple and so safe said Dr. Luca Inverardi deputy director of translational research at the Diabetes Research Institute University of Miami School of Medicine. But hes also reasonably cautious he said. The followup is long up to  weeks but its not long enough to declare victory against diabetes yet said Inverardi.  Also he noted that the study involved only  Chinese people and that type  diabetes is a bit different in that population. He said hed like to see larger studies with a more diverse population followed for a longer time.  Results of the study were published online Jan.  in the journal BMC Medicine. Type  diabetes an autoimmune disease occurs when the bodys immune system cells mistakenly attack the insulinproducing beta cells in the pancreas. Because their beta cells dont produce enough or any insulin people with type  diabetes have to replace the lost insulin through injections to survive.  Stopping that autoimmune attack appears to be crucial to any treatment that hopes to cure or reverse type  diabetes.  Zhaos team developed a completely new approach. They take blood from a patient and separate out the immune system cells lymphocytes. They briefly expose those cells to stem cells from umbilical cord blood from an unrelated infant and return the lymphocytes alone to the patients body. The researchers have dubbed this Stem Cell Educator Therapy because while exposed to the stem cells the lymphocytes seem to relearn how they should behave.  The study participants who were  to  years old had had type  diabetes for an average of nine years. Six had some residual beta cell function and six did not. Both groups were given stem cell educator therapy. The other three people served as the control group.  The researchers measured Cpeptide a protein fragment thats a byproduct of insulin production and found that the educator therapy group had improved levels of Cpeptide at  weeks. These levels continued to improve until  weeks and remained stable through the followup at  weeks. There were no changes in Cpeptide in the control group.  The average daily dose of insulin dropped almost  percent after  weeks for the group with some beta cell function and  percent in those with no beta cell function suggesting that the group with no beta cell function now produced insulin.  That means if you stop the autoimmune reaction you may see beta cell regeneration or there might be other precursor cells in the pancreas. If these data are confirmed this is a very provocative and remarkable finding Inverardi said.  The average hemoglobin AC level dropped . percent for those with residual beta cell function and . percent for those without beta cell function. AC levels measure average blood sugar levels over two to three months and people with type  diabetes are advised to maintain AC levels below  percent. A drop of  percent in AC levels can reduce the risk of complications.  This was an initial clinical trial designed to test for safety. Zhao said that in future trials he hopes that with additional treatments people might get off insulin altogether.  But even if thats not possible the recovery of some beta cell function would be welcome news. In the absence of complete remission there are very sizable advantages to having some beta cell function Inverardi noted.  Both experts said the treatment appears safe with no risk of rejection. No significant side effects were reported during the trial other than some arm soreness where blood was taken and returned.  More information Learn more about type  diabetes from the Nemours Foundations KidsHealth Web site httpkidshealth.orgparentmedicalendocrinetype.html. SOURCES Yong Zhao M.D. Ph.D. assistant professor section of endocrinology diabetes and metabolism department of medicine University of Illinois at Chicago Luca Inverardi M.D. deputy director of translational research at the Diabetes Research Institute University of Miami School of Medicine and research professor of medicine microbiology and immunology University of Miami Miller School of Medicine Jan.   BMC Medicine online"