Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: According to numerous studies, mesenchymal stem cell therapy is one of the best therapeutic approaches for the treatment of type 1 diabetes. The aim of our study is to provide an update on the contribution of mesenchymal stem cells to glycaemic control and the screening of short-and long-term side effects.

Results: We included 5 patients who met our inclusion criteria. The mean age was 21.2 years, with a sex ratio of 0.6. The average duration of diabetes in our patients was 2 years and 3 months. Minor incidents in the immediate postoperative period were nausea and vomiting in 30% of patients, pain at the sampling site in 10%, and no patient presented a major incident in the immediate postoperative period. In terms of glycaemia: GAJ and GPP fell from 1.63 and 2.01 pre-transplant to 1.28 and 1.52 respectively after 18 months post-transplant, the mean daily dose of basal insulin fell from 0.46 IU/Kg/d pre-transplant to 0. 37 IU/Kg/d after 18 months’ follow-up, for rapid insulin requirements fell from 17.5 IU/d pre-transplant to 11.5 IU/d, and marked weight gain was observed in 40% of patients after 18 months’ post-transplant follow-up.

Discussion: Dave and trivedi published in 2013 their results of post-MSC transplant follow-up in 2 T1DM patients, insulin requirements reduced from 64 and 56 IU/day to 18 and 22 IU/day after 23 months of follow-up, HbA1c levels reduced from 9.1%, to 6.3% in the 1st patient and 12.4%, to 6.8% in the 2nd patient, without any side effects. Another review published in China in March 2022 by Xin Xing Wan showed that stem cell transplantation had beneficial effects in newly diagnosed type 1 diabetics, with no obvious adverse effects.

Conclusions: Mesenchymal stem cells represent an avenue for the future that will open up new therapeutic prospects in T1DM because of their immunomodulatory properties, ease of isolation, abundance and safety of use.