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Singapore hunts for diabetes cure with stem cells
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - With rising affluence and obesity becoming
a greater problem in Asia, Singapore has joined the race to find
a cure for diabetes using adult stem cells.
Researchers from the National University of Singapore and a local
biotechnology company said Monday they were collaborating on a project
to produce insulin-secreting cells from adult stem cells harvested
from fat tissue.
"There is a race around the world to develop what we call
surrogate islet cells - cells not derived from the human donor pancreas
but cells from tissue, from stem cells, which can be coaxed into
producing insulin and then transplanted," said Dr John Isaac
of the university's department of surgery.
Singapore, which has positioned itself as a center for stem cell
research, joins experts in the United States and Europe researching
fat tissue in adults as a source of stem cells.
The wealthy island state has one of the highest rates of diabetes
in the world, with nine percent of adults suffering from the potentially
fatal disease compared with six percent in the United States.
The disease results from the body's failure to produce insulin
and if not properly treated, can lead to heart and kidney disease,
stroke, amputations, blindness and death.
The research, with an initial investment of S$1.5 million ($893,900),
aims to examine the use of adipose tissue, but other sources of
adult stem cells may also be investigated. Dr. Susan Lim, founder
of the biotechnology firm Stem Cell Technologies Pte. Ltd., said
there was already strong evidence that cells from fat can differentiate
into a variety of cell types, including fat, bone and cartilage.
Lim told a news conference that using adult stem cells from patients
should pose less controversy than embryonic ones. And with the cells
taken from patients' own tissues, immuno-suppressant drugs can also
be avoided.
The joint venture aims to be in clinical trials after 2007.
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