Mayo Clinic doctor who has made it his life mission to CURE diabetes

• Dr. Quinn Peterson changed his focus to diabetes after his children were diagnosed with it
• He is currently working on a treatment and hopes to enter clinical trials within the next few years.
• Read more: Inside the 'seismic shift' in the race to beat type 1 diabetes

Doctors at Mayo Clinic aim to cure diabetes in their lifetimes after three children were diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.

Dr. Quinn Peterson, director of the Islet Engineering and Replacement Institute at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, was on the brink of a career developing chemotherapy drugs for cancer patients when her then 3-year-old daughter, Clarissa, was diagnosed with diabetes in 2010. was pursuing.

“It was a very important event in our family's life,” he told DailyMail.com.

“I felt it was my responsibility as a father if I could contribute in some small way to alleviating the suffering of not only my daughter, but everyone suffering from this disease.”

Since Clarissa, now 17, was diagnosed, Dr. Peterson's two younger children, daughter Sarah, 12, and son Seth, 8, have also been diagnosed.

Dr. Peterson's team is currently developing cell-based treatments that could replace the need for insulin supplements, and trials are already underway.

Ultimately, he hopes such treatments will be able to completely cure diabetes, which is rapidly increasing around the world.

“It has been a very rewarding experience for me to work on something that I have such a personal passion for. But since my children were diagnosed, that passion has only grown stronger. became.”

Dr. Peterson said she has seen the challenges her children face living with type 1 diabetes.

In addition to having to take daily insulin injections, his children are forced to feel like outsiders, including missing out on birthday cake at parties and sitting out during sports. .

Families also worry about the complications their children will face, as the disease increases the risk of heart disease due to narrowing of blood vessels, as well as kidney and eye problems.

These problems mean people with type 1 diabetes tend to die younger, with recent estimates suggesting that the decline in life expectancy could range from seven to 20 years. I am.

Diabetes is a chronic disease in which the pancreas cannot produce enough beta cells to produce insulin. Insulin regulates blood sugar (also known as glucose), which the body needs for energy.

When the body cannot produce enough insulin, excess blood sugar remains in the bloodstream. This can lead to heart disease, kidney disease, nerve damage, and other permanent health problems.

Approximately 38 million children in the United States have diabetes, and one in five is undiagnosed, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

In type 1 diabetes, an autoimmune response causes the body to stop producing insulin. It can be diagnosed at any age, and the CDC estimates that 5 to 10 percent of Americans have this disease.

Type 2 diabetes, on the other hand, develops over many years and is usually diagnosed in adulthood. This occurs when the body's insulin is unable to maintain blood sugar levels at normal levels. Obesity is a major risk factor for this type, which affects over 90% of diabetics.

Both type 1 and type 2 diabetes are on the rise, with the number of patients predicted to increase to 1.3 billion over the next 30 years.

Experts estimate that the explosive rise in cases – more than double the current number of 529 million – is driven primarily by the world's ever-expanding waistlines.

Research published in magazines last year American Heart Association JournalFor example, obesity was found to be associated with 30 to 53 percent of new diabetes cases in the United States each year.

The CDC estimates that 4 in 10 Americans are obese, and that rate is increasing. For example, from March 2020 to March 2021, the number increased by 3%.

Dietary factors may play a role, as the American diet is high in sugar and processed foods, a known risk for this condition.

Dr. Peterson and his team are working on cell replacement therapy for patients with type 1 diabetes. This involves placing new healthy cells into the body to replace diseased or damaged cells.

In this case, immature stem cells would be processed into cells that function similarly to beta cells. The cells can also mimic the function of alpha cells, which produce a hormone called glycogen that functions similarly to glucose and raises blood sugar levels.

These cells are usually located in areas of the pancreas called islets.

“These three types of cells work together as a community. They communicate with each other. They signal each other to work together to regulate blood sugar levels,” Dr. Peterson said.

“This is a cell product that can be transplanted into these people so that instead of having to inject insulin every day, these people can produce their own insulin.”

“The cells we are producing are like living drugs that can sense the amount of glucose in the environment and secrete the appropriate amount of insulin for the patient.”

This would also replace the need for Dr. Peterson to monitor children's blood sugar levels several times a day, from the time they wake up to the time they go to bed.

Although the research team is primarily evaluating the treatment for people with type 1 diabetes, Dr. Peterson said it may also have potential benefits for people with type 2 diabetes.

Patients can expect to receive this treatment through a simple surgery in which cells are transplanted just below the skin's surface.

Dr. Peterson estimates that the cells can survive for about five years.

“For people living with this disease, we are optimistic that continued progress toward clinical trials will significantly improve the standard of care for patients,” he said.

But he cautions that it could still be years before cell therapies enter human clinical trials, and even longer before they become the standard of care.

Still, he remains optimistic about the possibility.

“This gives me so much hope. I see every day the struggle of living with this disease,” Dr. Peterson said.

“My children are incredibly brave. They deal with this disease with great courage and confidence.

“But there are quiet moments where they share with me and my wife the struggles they face with this disease, the challenges on an emotional level, on a personal level, on a physical level.”

“For me, the idea of ​​developing a cell replacement therapy gives me great hope that the suffering will be alleviated, not only for my children, but also for all patients suffering from this problem.”

“They can have hope for a future where type 1 diabetes is not as difficult as it is today, and where people can live normal lives without the stress that comes with this disease.”