The first phase of clinical trials using stem cells to counter the condition known as ‘diabetic foot’ have been successfully concluded.
Twenty patients at the Hospital Virgen Macarena in Sevilla were able to avoid amputation of the foot by the application of stem cells.
Diabetic foot is a common occurrence with diabetes and during the final stages, it is usually necessary to amputate the foot. The recovery in the twenty patients, all at the stage of requiring amputation, has been such that even the hair is growing back and arteries have begun to function again.
Phase two, which has already started, will see more patients being offered this treatment and phase three will be the widespread use of the treatment.
The main challenge still remaining is how to stop the diabetes in these patients in order to prevent the new cells being damaged or killed.