Last updated on March 13, 2014 at 15:19 EDT  Researchers Make
Older Beta Cells Act Young Again  October 12, 2011  By
manipulating a well-known molecular pathway, JDRF-funded
scientists breathe new life into aging beta cells  As a person
ages, the ability of their beta cells to divide and make new
beta cells declines. By the time children reach the age of 10 to
12 years, the ability of their insulin-producing cells to
replicate greatly diminishes. If these cells, called beta cells,
are destroyed–as they are in type 1 diabetes–treatment with the
hormone insulin becomes essential to regulate blood glucose
levels and get energy from food. Now, longtime JDRF-funded
researchers at Stanford University have identified a pathway
responsible for this age-related decline, and have shown that
they can tweak it to get older beta cells to act young again–and
start dividing.     In the past, researchers have used other
techniques to trigger older beta cells to start dividing, but
they have been met with challenging results,