Cord Blood Infusion for Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus (T1DM)

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is still associated with tremendous morbidity and premature mortality. Patients require multiple daily insulin injections throughout their lives as well as close monitoring of their diet and blood sugar levels to prevent complications. Unfortunately, there is presently no permanent cure for diabetes. Whole pancreas or islet cell transplantation is available only to a very limited number of patients and necessitates potential lifelong immunosuppressive therapy. Autologous stem cell transplants have been used successfully for ALL (acute lymphoblastic leukemia), AML (acute myeloblastic leukemia) and for the treatment of a variety of cancers including breast cancer and neuroblastomas, and more recently for the treatment of autoimmune disorders such as multiple sclerosis (MS), lupus-like disease, and rheumatic disorders. Recently it was shown that bone marrow-derived stems cells transplanted into diabetic mice led to reduced hyperglycemia within 7 days after transplantation and was sustained until they were sacrificed at 35 days post-transplantation. The investigators' goal is to transfuse autologous umbilical cord blood into 23 children (Germany 10 and 20 Controls) with T1D in an attempt to regenerate pancreatic islet insulin producing beta cells and improve blood glucose control. As secondary goals, the investigators aim to track the migration of transfused cord blood stem and study the potential changes in metabolism/immune function leading to islet regeneration.