Published online Mar 15, 2023. doi: 10.4239/wjd.v14.i3.347
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
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.
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.