Juan Domínguez-Bendala, Ph.D., is Director of Stem Cell Development for Translational Research at the Diabetes Research Institute. Once again, thanks to Gina and Jon at Diabetes Talkfest - you'll have the opportunity to chat live with Dr. Domínguez-Bendala on August 23rd at 9pm Eastern Standard Time.

Dr. Domínguez-Bendala is currently involved in several projects that focus on the use of embryonic stem cells to obtain pancreatic islets, in the hopes that these newly developed cells could one day be transplanted into patients with type I diabetes.

Join Dr. Domínguez-Bendala to discuss his work and ask questions pertaining to embryonic stem cell research. I know I'll be there, in true form, asking questions that I've been archiving for an event like this one!

The scientists at University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine discovered that it is possible to regenerate damaged cells of the pancreas. Although the cells that revealed this discovery are not the beta cells of the pancreas, researchers believe that this research could find new ways to replenish the organs ability to produce insulin in diabetics.

The pancreas is made up of two compartments with different functions: the islet compartment of insulin-producing beta cells and the much larger exocrine compartment composed of duct cells and acinar cells that make and deliver enzymes to the intestine for digestion. Diabetes is caused by the failure of the beta cells to make insulin, whereas pancreatic cancer usually originates from the exocrine compartment. Under certain conditions in tissue culture, acinar cells can synthesize insulin as well as amylase, a digestion enzyme.

Evidence from this research is pointing to the beta cell itself as the most promising source for generating new beta cells. The focus of research is now shifting toward the direct stimulation of islet cell growth in live animals. In contrast, once acinar cells are removed from the organism and placed into culture, they may have greater potential to change into other cell types, including beta cells. As a result, Stoffers' animal model and technical approach is currently being used by other groups in the United States, Europe, and China to determine conditions under which acinar cells can take on the features of duct cells and beta cells.

Islet transplantation has become an enticing answer for a better Band-Aid in treating diabetes, both type 1 and 2. In type 1 diabetes the problem is the destruction of islets. About 15% of those with type 2 diabetes have the same problem of islet destruction, just as in type 1 diabetes. The age old problem with all transplanted cells is the recipient's immunity rejecting them as foreign bodies. Look no further than the ocean blue for a promising resolution.

Cerco Medical is developing a better Band-Aid to treat diabetes with a seaweed encapsulation technology. Their method uses a thin-sheet of encapsulated islets that is surgically attached to the liver. The sheet of islets is thinly coated with kelp to prevent immune rejection, and allow the islets to release insulin without allowing T-cells to enter and destroy the islets. This is a promising technique to potentially restore normal blood sugar control in diabetes.

Of course, the biomedical industry is quickly becoming the next dot-com. So the islet shortage is not a concern. With the advent of remarkable technologies, we can conceivably generate our own islets without having to sacrifice fetuses, wait for islet donors to die, or slaughter Billy Bob's best porker. The future of the better Band-Aid is closer than we think!

Research data published by the prestigious British Journal of Haematology demonstrates that a patient's own blood has the capacity to assist in the regeneration and repair of a multitude of damaged tissues. The article sited technology developments and the scientific rationale supporting that technology. A novel stem cell population, called Synergetic Cell Population has been discovered and cultured under conditions that mimic the natural body environment where they develop into different cell types, such as blood vessel cells, heart muscle cells and even nerves.

The data is promising as it seems that circulating blood has a much wider healing capacity than had previously been thought. Researchers are only just starting to reveal the potential of the blood to generate various functioning cell types. Dr. Valentin Fulga, TheraVitae Ltd's CEO and co- author of the article, added that bringing these results to the scientific community through a peer-reviewed article, was a key step to TheraVitae's strategy of advancing scientific research into adult stem cells and their clinical applications. "We intend to make maximum efforts to offer new hope to patients suffering from diseases that are presently considered to be incurable. We are proud to have had this opportunity to publish our data in a distinguished journal such as the British Journal of Haematology," he said.

TheraVitae is a private, multinational company focused on using stem cells from the patient's own blood in order to treat a variety of disorders, especially cardiovascular diseases. The company has already developed a proprietary stem cell technology 'VesCell™' that is currently being used by hospitals in Thailand and Singapore to treat patients with heart disease. With advancements like this just around the corner, one only knows what kind of therapies will prevail from our very own blood supply. Who says familiarity breeds contempt? Familiarly breeds cures, if this one goes the mile!

Rats with a disease comparable to macular degeneration have had their eyesight restored with injections involving human embryonic stem cells. Scientists hope this will bode well for treating people at risk of the disorder.

Scientists found that visual acuity was restored in the animals after their eyes were injected with stem cells. The cells spontaneously transformed into retinal pigment epithelial cells, the very components that had been destroyed by an eye disease similar to macular degeneration. Macular degeneration is a disorder that ideally lends itself to stem cell treatment. Human embryonic stem cells offer several important advantages. Among them is their capacity to develop into cellular components that closely resemble primary human retinal pigment epithelial cells.

Anybody touched by macular degeneration will find this news to be, at the very least, promising. That is, of course, if you are not Richard Doerflinger of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. He has been a naysayer of embryonic stem cell research for many moons. In fact, his skepticism this time is because "Dr. Lanza has been involved in a number of claims in the past that turned out not to be very accurate." After all, Dr. Lanza has over 25 years of research and industrial experience in the area of stem cells and regenerative medicine. From 1990 to 1998, he was Director of Transplantation Biology at BioHybrid Technologies, Inc., and is currently an Adjunct Professor at the Institute for Regenerative Medicine, Wake Forest University School of Medicine. What does this guy know anyway? What's on your resume, Dick?