Letter to the Editor
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2023. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Diabetes. Mar 15, 2023; 14(3): 347-351
Published online Mar 15, 2023. doi: 10.4239/wjd.v14.i3.347
Successful lifestyle modifications may underlie umbilical cord-mesenchymal stromal cell effects in type 2 diabetes mellitus
Alexandra Papadopoulou, Konstantinos I Papadopoulos
Alexandra Papadopoulou, Occupational and Environmental Health Services, Feelgood Lund, Lund 22363, Skåne, Sweden
Konstantinos I Papadopoulos, Department of Research and Development, THAI StemLife Co., Ltd., Bangkok 10310, Bangkok, Thailand
Author contributions: Papadopoulou A and Papadopoulos KI contributed equally to the present manuscript; Papadopoulou A conceived and conceptualized the argumentation, designed the layout, drafted the initial manuscript, and reviewed and revised the manuscript; Papadopoulos KI performed the literature search, extracted vital information, contributed to the synthesis of the argumentation, made substantial and direct intellectual contributions, and reviewed and revised the manuscript. Papadopoulou A and Papadopoulos KI approved the submitted final manuscript and agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work.
Conflict-of-interest statement: No conflicts of interest are reported by Alexandra Papadopoulou. Konstantinos I Papadopoulos is an employee and shareholder of THAI StemLife, Co., Ltd.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Konstantinos I Papadopoulos, MD, PhD, Chief Doctor, Director, Department of Research and Development, THAI StemLife Co., Ltd., 566/3 Soi Ramk-hamhaeng 39 (Thepleela 1), Prachaouthit Rd., Wangthonglang, Bangkok 10310, Bangkok, Thailand. kostas@thaistemlife.co.th
Received: December 4, 2022
Peer-review started: December 4, 2022
First decision: December 26, 2022
Revised: December 30, 2022
Accepted: March 7, 2023
Article in press: March 7, 2023
Published online: March 15, 2023
Processing time: 101 Days and 6 Hours
Abstract

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a lifelong condition and a grave threat to human health. Innovative efforts to relieve its detrimental effects are acutely needed. The sine qua non in T2DM management is consistent adherence to a prudent lifestyle and nutrition, combined with aerobic and resistance exercise regimens, together repeatedly shown to lead to complete reversal and even long-term remission. Non-adherence to the above lifestyle adjustments condemns any treatment effort and ultimately the patient to a grim fate. It is thus imperative that every study evaluating the effects of innovative interventions in T2DM objectively compares the novel treatment modality to lifestyle modifications, preferably through double-blind controlled randomization, before claiming efficacy.

Keywords: Type 1 diabetes mellitus; Type 2 diabetes mellitus; Human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells; Diabetes remission; Diabetes reversal; Lifestyle modifications.

Core Tip: The role of human umbilical cord-mesenchymal stem cells in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) could at best be seen as supportive to the irreplaceable role of consistent lifestyle modifications that, at a minimum, must include nutritional and exercise interventions. Combination of newer pharmacological treatments in T2DM, such as semaglutide or tirzepatide, with cellular components is worth exploring.