Press Release

Iacocca Foundation

August 20, 2004

Support Needed for Promising Adult Cell Therapy to Treat Juvenile Diabetes

Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital have received FDA approval to begin human trials of an adult cell therapy that reverses Type 1 (juvenile) diabetes in animals.

The team, led by Harvard’s Dr. Denise Faustman, has treated diabetic mice with adult spleen cells. These cells “retrain” the body’s immune system to stop attacking its own insulin-producing islet cells. New cells then naturally regenerate from those cells and the body’s own cells, eliminating the symptoms of Type 1 diabetes (see S. Kodama et al., “Islet Regeneration During the Reversal of Autoimmune Diabetes in NOD Mice,” 302 Science 1223 (2003)). This method, using no embryonic stem cells, has achieved a 92% success rate in 250 trials.

The researchers are ready to test this very promising approach in patients, but millions of dollars are needed for human trials—and some major foundations are devoting much of their funding to research that relies on destroying human embryos instead.

The Iacocca Foundation has contributed $1 million for human trials using the Faustman approach, and is asking one million Americans to help by donating $10 each.

To learn more about this research and how you can help, please click here (www.joinleenow.org).