{"id":28846,"date":"2026-11-13T19:49:24","date_gmt":"2026-11-13T15:49:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/medscriptum.org\/?p=28846"},"modified":"2026-11-13T19:53:34","modified_gmt":"2026-11-13T15:53:34","slug":"will-science-be-able-to-cure-diabetes-completely","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/medscriptum.org\/en\/will-science-be-able-to-cure-diabetes-completely\/","title":{"rendered":"Will science be able to cure diabetes completely?"},"content":{"rendered":"

What would happen if, one day, people with diabetes no longer needed daily insulin injections? What if scientists could restore the function of the cells that naturally regulate blood glucose levels in the body?<\/p>\n

This possibility is becoming increasingly realistic. In recent years, cell therapy and genetic engineering have produced results that could significantly change the future of diabetes treatment.<\/p>\n

World Diabetes Day is observed on November 14. To mark the occasion, it is worth exploring how close science is to finding a complete cure for the disease and what recent research has achieved.<\/p>\n

Why Can’t We Cure Diabetes?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The two main types of diabetes differ in their underlying mechanisms.<\/p>\n

In type 1 diabetes, the immune system destroys the beta cells in the pancreas that produce insulin. As a result, people with the condition need to obtain insulin from an external source.<\/p>\n

In type 2 diabetes, the body no longer responds properly to insulin, and over time, insulin production may also decrease. In some cases, remission is possible, meaning that blood glucose levels remain below the diagnostic threshold for diabetes without medication. However, this does not mean the disease has been permanently cured.<\/p>\n

For type 1 diabetes, scientists are exploring a different approach: restoring the lost cellular function.<\/p>\n

An Experiment That Has Raised New Hope<\/strong><\/h2>\n

In 2025, a study published in the scientific journal The New England Journal of Medicine<\/em> reported<\/a> significant results.<\/p>\n

Scientists transplanted stem cell-derived insulin-producing cells into people with type 1 diabetes.<\/p>\n

Of the 12 study participants who received the full dose of cells, 10 no longer needed insulin injections one year later. The transplanted cells were able to produce insulin inside their bodies.<\/p>\n

The results are impressive, but the study also had important limitations: the number of participants was small, and the follow-up period was relatively short. In addition, patients needed to take immunosuppressive medications.<\/p>\n

Therefore, becoming independent of insulin does not yet mean achieving a complete cure.<\/p>\n

An Important Achievement by a Georgian Scientist<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Georgian scientist and University of Geneva professor Ekaterine Berishvili is also making an important contribution to the development of new diabetes treatments.<\/p>\n

In 2026, a study involving her was published<\/a> in the scientific journal Trends in Biotechnology<\/em>. The research focuses on the development of a bioartificial pancreas.<\/p>\n

The researchers developed a special hydrogel called Amniogel, based on material derived from human amniotic membranes. They placed clusters of insulin-producing cells and blood vessel-forming cells inside the hydrogel.<\/p>\n

As a result, a network of small blood vessels formed around the cells before transplantation. Once implanted, this network connected to the recipient’s blood circulation.<\/p>\n

The experiment produced an important result: in diabetic mice, the transplanted system maintained normal blood glucose levels for at least 100 days.<\/p>\n

Under laboratory conditions, the hydrogel also restricted the movement of immune cells, suggesting that it could help protect transplanted tissue.<\/p>\n

This is still preclinical research, and the technology’s effectiveness in humans has not yet been established. The next challenge is to develop larger constructs suitable for the human body.<\/p>\n

Could Cells Become Invisible to the Immune System?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

In 2025, scientists transplanted genetically modified donor cells into a person with type 1 diabetes. The modifications were designed to prevent the immune system from destroying the cells.<\/p>\n

Results published in 2026 showed that the transplanted cells were still functioning 14 months later, without the need for immunosuppressive treatment.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, the patient had not achieved complete independence from insulin injections.<\/p>\n

How Close Are We to a Cure?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Science has already demonstrated that restoring lost cellular function in type 1 diabetes is possible. The main challenge now is to achieve this safely, over the long term, and in a much larger number of patients.<\/p>\n

In the future, diabetes treatment may no longer focus solely on controlling blood glucose levels. Scientists are working to restore the biological function whose loss causes the disease in the first place.<\/p>\n

A complete cure has not yet been achieved, but significant steps towards that goal have already been taken.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What would happen if, one day, people with diabetes no longer needed daily insulin injections? What if scientists could restore the function of the cells that naturally regulate blood glucose levels in the body? This possibility is becoming increasingly realistic. In recent years, cell therapy and genetic engineering have produced results that could significantly change […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":28845,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1594,1665,1587,1657],"tags":[2318],"class_list":["post-28846","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","category-public-health","category-research","category-science","tag-diabeti"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/medscriptum.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28846","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/medscriptum.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/medscriptum.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medscriptum.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/30"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medscriptum.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28846"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/medscriptum.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28846\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28850,"href":"https:\/\/medscriptum.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28846\/revisions\/28850"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medscriptum.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28845"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/medscriptum.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28846"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medscriptum.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28846"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medscriptum.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28846"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}