Stem cell therapy is not likely to be curative for Type I DM, although this is simply my opinion and I have no evidence to support it. Part of this is definitional. A true cure for Type I would involve stopping the autoimmune attack of the pancreatic islets.
A therapy that's as good as a cure (such as one that is stem cell based, or otherwise) does seem likely in the next 15 years to me. I've worked on this problem briefly; my role was miniscule, but the basic idea is that you can encapsulate beta cells in an artificially immunologically privileged space, such as an alginate capsule. If done just right, this will let you sense glucose, secrete insulin, and avoid immune attack.
At any rate, yes, I think that we're getting closer to meaningful "post-insulin" therapeutics. Whether or not that will be due to stem cell biology, I don't really know; to be honest, I don't really mind what technique is used so long as it is safe, effective, and maximizes the patients' quality of life.
A therapy that's as good as a cure (such as one that is stem cell based, or otherwise) does seem likely in the next 15 years to me. I've worked on this problem briefly; my role was miniscule, but the basic idea is that you can encapsulate beta cells in an artificially immunologically privileged space, such as an alginate capsule. If done just right, this will let you sense glucose, secrete insulin, and avoid immune attack.
At any rate, yes, I think that we're getting closer to meaningful "post-insulin" therapeutics. Whether or not that will be due to stem cell biology, I don't really know; to be honest, I don't really mind what technique is used so long as it is safe, effective, and maximizes the patients' quality of life.