Recent research trend in cell and drug delivery system for type 1 diabetes treatment

This review article summarizes the recent research trends for the treatment of type 1 diabetes (T1D) based on islets transplantation and drug delivery system. The research concerns ongoing development and future suggestions in T1D treatment with their limitations. T1D is one of the representative chronic disease causing human death with hypoglycemia and ketoacidosis. As the T1D incidence rate and market size increase, the need for T1D treatment is growing worldwide. Islets transplantation and drug delivery system with or without insulin have shown the potentials for effective T1D treatment. This review discusses various recent methods for islets transplantation derived from human stem cells or animal tissue. In addition to cell transplantation methods, islet transplantation with other cells or biomaterials that can deliver insulin or non-insulin drugs simultaneously are discussed. There are several limitations in the use of conventional islet and drug delivery system based on insulin and non-insulin for T1D treatment. This manuscript reviews the recent research results based on limelight research subjects about T1D treatment and their limitations.