- cross-posted to:
- workreform@lemmy.world
- cross-posted to:
- workreform@lemmy.world
Ok, first, it only applies to Type 2 diabetes.
In a remarkable medical breakthrough, Chinese scientists have successfully cured a patient of type 2 diabetes through an innovative cell therapy approach.
Second, it was done on a case-by-case basis. Each person has their own therapy tailored for them. This does not appear to be a mass-solution.
The groundbreaking treatment involved transplanting lab-grown replicas of the patient’s own insulin-producing islet cells into their body. This ingenious approach effectively restored the patient’s pancreatic islet function, enabling the body to regulate blood sugar levels naturally without external intervention.
From the linked article:
According to a South China Morning Post report, the patient underwent the cell transplant in July 2021.
…
The new therapy involves programming the patient’s peripheral blood mononuclear cells, transforming them into “seed cells” to recreate pancreatic islet tissue in an artificial environment. This approach leverages the body’s regenerative capabilities, an emerging field known as regenerative medicine.
it was done on a case-by-case basis. Each person has their own therapy tailored for them. This does not appear to be a mass-solution.
I’m not sure what you are expecting for something to be considered a cure? What they are describing is a treatment procedure which uses the patient’s own tissue. How does that make it case-by-case?
Because you can’t pack it up in a box and ship it to just anyone. They have to make it specifically for you. Hence case-by-case.
That’s not what case-by-case means. Wiktionary:
Separate and distinct from others of the same kind; treated individually.
Case-by-case implies that each treatment is different and is not generalisable; but the fact that they use a patient’s own tissue does not make each individual treatment different. If you want to extend the logic, you might call vaccination a case-by-case treatment as well, since they use different needles for each person.
The approach is generic. The implementation is case by case. But this is exactly the problem. When the implementation is generic, like a vaccine, then you can mass produce it and the costs go down.
As far as this seems, you can’t mass produce this solution. You can mass implement the approach, but that doesn’t really bring the cost down.