Scientists in New York and Los Angeles have found a new way to treat diabetes. This exciting discovery could help people who live with this condition by increasing the number of cells that make insulin in the body.
The study was done by researchers at Mount Sinai Health System in New York City and City of Hope in Los Angeles. They found that using two drugs together helped the body produce more insulin-making cells, which are called beta cells. This treatment could be a big step forward for people with both type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
The team started this research back in 2015. Dr. Andrew Stewart from Mount Sinai led the project, and Dr. Adolfo Garcia-Ocaña, who now works at City of Hope, helped design and carry out the study. City of Hope is a well-known center for diabetes and cancer research.
The researchers used a natural chemical called harmine, which comes from certain plants, and combined it with a diabetes drug known as a GLP1 receptor agonist. They tested this combination in mice that had no immune system. These mice had human beta cells put into them and were used to study both types of diabetes.
The results were very promising. In just three months, the number of human beta cells grew by 700%. The mice’s diabetes symptoms improved quickly. This is the first time scientists have shown that a drug can increase adult human beta cells in a living body.
Dr. Garcia-Ocaña said this research gives hope for new treatments that could help many people with diabetes. If this treatment works in people, it could change how we manage the disease.
Dr. Stewart and his team first discovered harmine’s ability to help beta cells grow by testing thousands of drugs. Their earlier work was published in 2015 in a well-known science journal.
Right now, diabetes affects more than 10% of adults around the world. The disease happens when there are not enough working beta cells to control blood sugar. Current treatments help control sugar levels but do not bring back lost beta cells. Most people with diabetes still have some beta cells, so scientists are working on ways to grow more of them.
Before this study, researchers showed that blocking an enzyme called DYRK1A could make beta cells multiply in lab dishes. But this is the first time they’ve shown it can also work in living animals for a long time.
To measure how many beta cells grew, the team used a powerful microscope tool called iDISCO+. This tool makes tissue see-through so scientists can count the cells more clearly. Dr. Sarah Stanley at Mount Sinai used this tool and saw big growth in beta cell numbers, along with better function and survival of the cells.
Mount Sinai has already tested harmine in a small safety trial in healthy people. Dr. Robert DeVita is working on newer versions of these drugs, and they hope to test them in people soon.
The scientists are also working on another problem. In type 1 diabetes, the immune system attacks the new beta cells. To solve this, they are testing ways to protect the new cells from the immune system. They hope this will help the cells live longer and make more insulin.
Dr. Garcia-Ocaña says the study is an important step toward human trials. There is nothing like this available for patients yet, but it could become a powerful treatment in the future.
Some of the researchers have applied for patents to protect their drug discoveries. These are not licensed yet, but they show that the scientists believe strongly in the potential of this treatment.
This research gives new hope to millions of people living with diabetes. It could one day help them live healthier and easier lives by fixing the root problem—not just managing the symptoms.
If you care about diabetes, please read studies about bananas and diabetes, and honey could help control blood sugar.
For more health information, please see recent studies about Vitamin D that may reduce dangerous complications in diabetes and results showing plant-based protein foods may help reverse type 2 diabetes.
Copyright © 2025 Knowridge Science Report. All rights reserved.
