Potential new diabetes treatment being tested in Vancouver

The University of British Columbia and Vancouver Coastal Health are testing a possible diabetes cure that replaces a person’s damaged pancreatic cells with new ones grown in the lab.

The replacement cells are grown from embryonic stem cells. Researchers believe that if the new cells mature, multiply, and behave as hoped, recipients would be able to lessen – or even eliminate – their dependence on self-injected insulin. They might also be spared from having to continually monitor their blood sugar, usually by pricking their fingers several times a day.