Islet transplantation effective to treat type 1 diabetes complicated by severe hypoglycemia

[Northerner]

Northwestern Medicine researchers are co-investigators in a breakthrough clinical trial that found transplanted human islets prevent hypoglycemic events and provide excellent glycemic control for patients with Type 1 diabetes with severe hypoglycemia. The results of the multi-center, single arm, phase III study are published in Diabetes Care. The research was funded by National Institute of Health (NIH) grants through the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and the National Institute for Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disease (NIDDK).

Islet transplantation is an investigational therapy for individuals with Type 1 diabetes in which insulin-producing cells, or islets, from a donor pancreas are transplanted into another person. In patients with diabetes, the pancreas does not properly produce insulin. Using a minimally invasive radiologic technique, islet transplantation infuses working cells that can control blood glucose and possibly eliminate the need for insulin therapy. Islets begin to release insulin soon after transplantation with increased function occurring over time.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/05/160502164823.htm

I thought they'd been doing islet cell transplants for ages

 

[HOBIE]

This is what they should be researching 🙂

 

[trophywench]

Grief - Richard Lane - now PAST President of DUK had an islet transplant years and years ago! However in those days after a few years they all died off again, but since then, yet still 'some time ago' they invented a way of encapsulating them so that our owns bodies auto immune response didn't attack them in the same way or so quickly.

This surely is 'OLD' news? Or is it merely that in this case the USA are behind 'us' ? Or again - is it because they don't have joined up thinking over there, whereas we do especially with certain parts of Europe - notably Scandinavia it's always seemed to me - and this is nob all to do with the EU, it predates all of that because there's long been a sort of 'European Diabetes Club' - and that's exactly where Dr David Cavan works now !

 

[Matt Cycle]

I thought they'd been doing islet cell transplants for ages

They have - it's hardly a breakthrough clinical trial. 🙄 It's the rejection and having to take immunosuppression drugs that are the problem. If you look at the stats in this - only 48 people in the study and at the end of the first year just 52% didn't have to take insulin. In the study 5 people had transplant related complications and 2 had infections related to immunosuppression but there were no deaths. 😱