Insulin-producing Beta Cells tagged posts

This is a close up of microneedles with beta cells. Credit: Zhen Gu Lab, NC State / UNC

This new ‘smart cell patch’ is a proof of principle to treat millions of people with type-1 and advanced type-2 diabetes. For decades, researchers have tried to duplicate the function of beta cells, the tiny insulin-producing entities that don’t work properly in patients with diabetes. Insulin injections provide painful and often imperfect substitutes. Transplants of normal beta cells carry the risk of rejection or side effects from immunosuppressive therapies.

Now, researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University have devised another option: a synthetic patch filled with natural beta cells that can secrete doses of insulin to control blood sugar levels ...