According to the National Institute of Public Health in Mexico, it is considered that Diabetes Mellitus is the leading cause of death among women and the second among men since 2000. In 2010, the disease caused about 83,000 deaths.
Diabetes is a disease that is characterized by high levels of glucose in the blood. This is because the body does not produce or use insulin properly, hormone responsible for helping the cells to transform glucose (from food) into energy. If the body does not produce insulin properly, glucose stays in the blood and develops different complications over time.

This article exposes the potential of mesenchymal stem cells as new therapeutic agents for the treatment of a series of diseases caused by Diabetes Mellitus, such as the lack of insulin production and heart problems.

The possible therapeutic effect of mesenchymal stem cells in Diabetes is suggested by their ability to generate insulin-producing cells. Mesenchymal stem cells express multiple genes related to the development or function of pancreatic beta cells; said cells are capable of releasing insulin in a glucose-dependent manner which leads to the improvement of diabetic conditions.

Another one of the complications originated by the Diabetes are the cadiomiopatías, diseases of the cardiac muscle. According to the literature, mesenchymal stem cells have different properties for their possible therapeutic use, among them is the ability to induce the generation of new cardiac cells (myogenesis)

Clinical studies where they applied autologous mesenchymal stem cells (from the individual) intravenously showed improvements: reduced episodes of ventricular tachycardia and led to reverse remodeling in post-infarction patients reducing the mortality rate in patients with ischemic stroke.

They are also capable of producing angiogenesis, which is the generation of new blood vessels. This is important since it is the means by which the bioactive molecules travel, which regulate several processes in our organism, for example, they help the distribution of nutrients and oxygen, in addition to preventing cell death. Therefore, mesenchymal stem cells, being able to regulate or intervene in these processes, could improve cardiac function after cell therapy.

Reference:
Vladislav Volarevic, Nebojsa Arsenijevic, Miodrag L Lukic, a, b and Miodrag Stojkovic a, c Stem Cells. 2011 Jan; 29 (1): 5-10. Doi: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21280154