In China, gum cell therapy showed an effect in 5 of 9 patients — South China Morning Post

China has completed a randomized phase 1 clinical trial of type 1 diabetes therapy using stem cells from gum tissue. In the group receiving treatment, five out of nine patients showed varying degrees of improvement in residual beta-cell function, the South China Morning Post reports.

Course of the trial

The study was conducted by specialists from Shanghai and Guangzhou at the Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou. It involved 18 people with type 1 diabetes. Nine volunteers received gingival mesenchymal stem cells every three weeks, while the remaining participants received a placebo.

Participants underwent four procedures, and follow-up lasted 48 weeks. After four sessions, the therapy group also had a reduced daily insulin requirement compared with baseline. One patient was able to completely discontinue exogenous insulin after the first cell infusion and maintained target glucose control throughout the follow-up period.

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Cells from gum tissue

The therapy used cells obtained from excess gum tissue donated with informed consent by healthy patients aged 20 to 30. The researchers noted that such cells are easier to obtain, including during dental procedures, and retain the ability to differentiate into insulin-secreting cells.

The authors of the study, published on September 30 in the journal Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy, did not record an increased risk of hypoglycemia or other adverse events during the trial. At the same time, they emphasized the need for larger and longer studies involving people with different residual beta-cell function to confirm the findings and assess the possibility of their broader use.