The mice treated with the gene therapy had three times more insulin in their blood than untreated diabetic mice. Both the research and the commentary were published in the May issue. The release of insulin spared the animals from the effects of high blood sugar. All of the mice that received the gene therapy survived throughout the experiment and showed gradually decreasing blood sugar levels. Type 1 diabetes is caused by the failure of pancreatic cells to produce insulin.
Researchers continue to work on ways to transplant or replace pancreatic tissue to treat diabetes.
This latest approach uses a gene therapy technique that involves using an altered virus to carry the gene in to the liver. Gene therapy has become a controversial procedure in recent months after the first death caused by the technique happened last September at the University of Pennsylvania. However, just last week, researchers at the Necker Hospital in Paris reported hopeful results. Although researchers say more research is needed, the results of the mouse study suggest that the technique is promising. The authors said that the PDX-1 gene transfer technique reprograms tissues other than the pancreas to produce insulin in a way that can effectively control abnormally high blood sugar levels.