Current approaches in regenerative medicine for the treatment of diabetes: introducing CRISPR/CAS9 technology and the case for non-embryonic stem cell therapy.

Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is an autoimmune disorder in which the body destroys its pancreatic β cells. Since these cells are responsible for insulin production, dysfunction or destruction of these cells necessitates blood glucose control through exogenous insulin shots. Curative treatment involves pancreas transplantation, but due to the incidence of transplant rejection and complications associated with immunosuppression, alternatives are being explored.