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Diabetic Digest - Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Readers:
Christmas is ten days away, I don't know about you, but
I'm ready to experience all that the holiday has to
offer. I'm really talking about food.
I know that I probably sound like a broken record, but the
best part of the holidays, other than friends, family, gift-
giving, and mistletoe, is the food. Food is everywhere
during the holidays, but don't over-indulge and remember
not to neglect your health.
With all that happens during this time of year I often
forget to eat or I overeat. I can never find the happy
medium. Now I just have to be smart. I watch what, where
and how much I am eating. I know I'm going to keep my
eye on it.
The point is not to get too wrapped up in all that happens
during the holidays. Your health is your number one
priority. Just be safe and health this holiday season. It
will make it all that much more enjoyable.
Take my advice and enjoy your holiday in a more healthy
way.
Regards,
Steve
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Sperm stem cells can be turned into insulin-making cells
to treat diabetes
Human sperm stem cells have been transformed into beta-
islet cells, which could be used to produce insulin in
diabetes patients
by: Alok Jha, science correspondent
The Guardian
Scientists have made insulin-producing cells from sperm
stem cells, a technique that could one day be used to
treat people with type 1 diabetes.
The disease is caused by the destruction of insulin-
producing cells in the pancreas, leading to low levels
of the hormone that regulates sugar in the blood. It
can develop at any age but usually appears before the
age of 40, and particularly in childhood. Around 5-15%
of all people with diabetes have type 1 diabetes, which
is usually treated with, among other things, daily
insulin injections.
In the latest study, G. Ian Gallicano, an associate
professor at Georgetown University Medical Centre in
Washington DC, transformed the early precursors for human
sperm, called spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs), into beta-
islet cells, which produce insulin and are normally found
in the pancreas. When he transferred these cells into
mice, they successfully regulated sugar levels in the
rodents' blood.
He presented his team's work today at the American Society
of Cell Biology annual meeting in Philadelphia. "No stem
cells, adult or embryonic, have been induced to secrete
enough insulin yet to cure diabetes in humans, but we know
SSCs have the potential to do what we want them to do, and
we know how to improve their yield," said Gallicano.
His team extracted human SSCs from the testicles of dead
organ donors. "We found that once you take these cells out
of the testes niche, they get confused, and will form all
three germ layers within several weeks. These are true,
pluripotent stem cells," said Gallicano. Pluripotent stem
cells can develop into any tissue in the body. Germ layers
are groups of cells formed when an embryo grows, each
layer corresponding to different cell types in the body.
From a single gram of tissue from human testes, the
researchers produced around 1 million stem cells. They
showed that these contained biological markers indicating
they were similar to beta-islet cells. When these were
transplanted into diabetic mice (which were engineered to
have no immune system), the rodents' blood sugar levels
dropped. This effect lasted for a week, showing that the
transplanted cells were producing insulin over this
period.
If this technique could be replicated in humans, using a
man's own tissue to create replacement insulin would over-
come several problems with many of the potential treatments
currently being tested for type 1 diabetes. One idea
involves transplanting islet cells from dead donors, but
this source is limited and the transplant can end up being
rejected by the patient's immune system.
Alternative ideas include transplants of adult stem cells
that have been reprogrammed to behave like more versatile,
embryonic stem cells. Unfortunately, this technique can
produce tumours in the tissue.
"This method of obtaining [beta]-islet-like cells solves
the problem of immune rejection in male diabetes patients,
as treatment based on this research would be autograft,
and the cells would be recognised as 'self'," wrote
Gallicano in an abstract to his research.
Gallicano added that his work was not confined to treating
men. There was no reason, he said, why the fundamental
understandings from his team's research could not be
extended to egg cells. In women, the precursor stem cells
of eggs could be turned into beta-islet-like cells.
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--------------------- Diabetic Recipe ---------------------
Christmas Fruit Squares
(makes 25)
butter-flavored cooking spray
3/4 cup (72 g) sifted cake flour
1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml) baking powder
1/8 teaspoon (0.6 ml) salt
1 teaspoon (5 ml) ground cinnamon
2/3 cup (19 g) spoonable brown sugar substitute
1/4 cup (32 g) chopped walnuts
1/2 cup (55 g) chopped peeled apple
1/2 cup (66 g) dried no-sugar-added dried cherries
1/3 cup (53 g) chopped dried apricots
1/4 cup (36 g) golden raisins
1 large egg + 1 large egg white
2 tablespoons (30 ml) fresh orange juice
1 tablespoon (15 ml) canola oil
1. Position the rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat
oven to 350°F (180°C), Gas Mark. Line a 9-inch (22.5 cm)
square baking pan with parchment paper. Lightly coat the
paper with cooking spray.
2. In a bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, salt,
cinnamon, brown sugar substitute, and walnuts.
3. In a small bowl, combine apple, dried cherries,
apricots, and raisins. Add to flour mixture and using
your hands, toss the fruits with the flour, separating
the fruits and coating them evenly with flour mixture.
4. In a large measuring cup, beat together egg, egg white,
orange juice, and oil. Mix well. Add to flour-fruit mixture
and stir with a wooden spoon until mixture is thoroughly
mixed and evenly moistened.
5. Spoon into prepared pan and press down evenly. Bake for
25 minutes, until top is golden and a tester inserted in
the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan on a rack for
10 minutes. Using a sharp knife, cut into 25 squares. Cool
completely. Store in an airtight container.
Per 2-square serving: 94 calories (29% calories from fat),
2g protein, 4g total fat (0.4 g
saturated fat), 16g carbohydrates,
2g dietary fiber, 18 mg cholesterol,
54 mg sodium
Diabetic exchanges: 1 carbohydrate (fruit), 1 fat
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