DRI Argentina: Combined Therapies Lead to Improved Islet Function
In Argentina, results from a pilot clinical trial show that Hyperbaric Oxygen (HOT) therapy, combined with an infusion of a patient's own bone marrow-derived stem cells, led to improved islet function and metabolic control in patients with type 2 diabetes.
HOT has been used for decades to deliver pressurized oxygen to scuba divers who suffer complications after being underwater. It is a remarkably simple, non-invasive therapy with virtually no side-effects that is showing early signs of promise in diabetes research.
In the Argentina-led Federation trials, study participants received a series of ten HOT treatments; five in advance of the stem cell infusion and five after the infusion. The combination of therapies showed promising preliminary results; participants showed improved glycemic control and C-peptide levels, and a reduction in insulin requirements.
Because the results of the phase one clinical trial were encouraging, we are conducting a multicenter, randomized clinical trial at DRI Federation centers in Argentina and China to assess the efficacy of the treatment in a larger group of subjects with type 2 diabetes. And, new experimental clinical protocols are currently being designed to extend the use of HOT for the treatment of patients with type 1 diabetes to see if, in combination with other approaches, it can be used to restore cell tolerance and promote the regeneration of insulin-producing cells.
Learn more about the DRI Argentina phase one trial.
>>Read more about Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy.
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