iPS cells and Personalized Medicine

We have created many induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells) from skin cells of Wolfram syndrome patients.

Because these cells can be differentiated into any types of cells, including brain cells, eye cells, and insulin-producing pancreatic cells, we can use these cells to replace damaged tissues in our patients in the future.

In addition to this, there is another advantage in making iPS cells. We can use these cells now. We can test the efficacy of different candidate drugs using brain cells and eye cells differentiated from iPS cells. It seems like that patients’ cells respond to different treatments based on their genetic make-up. So these cells are useful for designing personalized medicine for the treatments of Wolfram syndrome. This would apply to any other diseases. Thank you again for donating your cells. I would like to expand this program and make iPS cells from all the patients with Wolfram syndrome in the world.