Step Towards Type 1 Diabetes Cure

KTVT Channel 11/CBS Affiliate ^ | June 3, 2003

[MeekOneGOP]

http://cbs11tv.com

Step Towards Type 1 Diabetes Cure

Jun 3, 2003 10:41 am US/Central

There is good news for the estimated one million American sufferers of type 1 diabetes.

Researchers have announced an important step toward a cure of the disease.

The Early Show medical correspondent Dr. Emily Senay explains that type 1 diabetes is a disease where a person lacks the insulin-producing cells, or islets cells, in the pancreas that regulate sugar. People who suffer with the type 1 diabetes must inject insulin on a daily basis for their whole lives.

Now, researchers are testing a new treatment for the disease using islet cells from a donor pancreas. The cells are transplanted into the liver of an adult patient with type 1 diabetes, where they start producing insulin. These patients no longer need daily insulin injections.

Dr. Senay says the technique has worked well in Canada where it was first developed. There are patients now who have been free from insulin injections for as long as four years. Dr. Senay says the question was whether or not others would be able to achieve the same results.

The latest study is looking at 200 patients worldwide, including the United States. Preliminary results show the same 88 percent success rate in freeing patients with type 1 diabetes from daily insulin injections.

Doctors hope they can eventually perfect the technique and provide a hundred percent effective cure.

Currently, the patients have to take anti-rejection drugs to prevent their bodies rejecting the foreign cells. These drugs have risks including a slightly increased risk of infection and cancer. Other side-effects including higher cholesterol and mouth ulcers.

The technique doesn't work on type 2 diabetes, says Dr. Senay, because it is a different disease. In type 1 diabetes, people lack the cells to produce insulin, hence the need for the cell transplant. But, type 2 diabetics still have their islet cells and are often able to make their own insulin. Dr. Senay says the type 2 diabetes problem is that their insulin is resistant in other areas.

The technique will need to be perfected and approved before it becomes widely available. Dr. Senay says few places in the world are testing the technique and only a handful of U.S. centers were involved in this initial study.

Researchers also point out that a shortage of donor pancreatic cells is a potential stumbling block for the future. Islet cells have to be extracted from cadaver donors, and organ donors are in very short supply. There are not enough organs to supply all the people with type 1 diabetes.

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[MeekOneGOP]

A good friend of mine told me about this because he knows my brother has Type 1 Diabetes.

What great promise this holds !!

Here is the link to this article:

Step Towards Type 1 Diabetes Cure

The Early Show medical correspondent Dr. Emily Senay explains that type 1 diabetes is a disease where a person lacks the insulin-producing cells, or islets cells, in the pancreas that regulate sugar. People who suffer with the type 1 diabetes must inject insulin on a daily basis for their whole lives.

Now, researchers are testing a new treatment for the disease using islet cells from a donor pancreas. The cells are transplanted into the liver of an adult patient with type 1 diabetes, where they start producing insulin. These patients no longer need daily insulin injections.

[EggsAckley]

Thanks so much for posting this. My S.I.L. is diabetic, and this could be really good news for her.
Cheers!

[raisincane]

You are so right, this is excellent news. My sister died March 17, 2003 of diabetes complications. A terrible disease for sure.

[MeekOneGOP]

You bet! My pleasure.

A million folks and their families in this country have reason now to be elated!

[Straight Vermonter]

Wow, my wife is type and smiling ear to ear.

[MeekOneGOP]

SOooo sorry regarding your sister. Diabetes is a terrible thing.

My brother has given himself daily shots for 21 years now. He has recently had some sort of seizures and they switched him to a new or different type of Insulin. He was recently wondering if his fate might be not so good. I e-mailed him this article right after I posted it so he could check it out.

[MeekOneGOP]

haha ! Great !

[MeekOneGOP]

This is GREAT NEWS, imho. I had to help spread the word, folks !

Step Towards Type 1 Diabetes Cure

Excerpt:

The Early Show medical correspondent Dr. Emily Senay explains that type 1 diabetes is a disease where a person lacks the insulin-producing cells, or islets cells, in the pancreas that regulate sugar. People who suffer with the type 1 diabetes must inject insulin on a daily basis for their whole lives.

Now, researchers are testing a new treatment for the disease using islet cells from a donor pancreas. The cells are transplanted into the liver of an adult patient with type 1 diabetes, where they start producing insulin. These patients no longer need daily insulin injections.

Please let me know if you want ON or OFF my General Interest or Texas ping list!. . .don't be shy.

[Coroner]

Islet of langerhans transplants have been conducted experimentally here in the states for several years now. It is a cure!!

[Mrs Zip]

ping

[Genesis defender]

I don't understand something. The article said donor organs were scarce and that islet cells had to be extracted from cadaver organs. But they didn't say why. Couldn't they get these cells from living donor volunteers, like bone marrow?

[MeekOneGOP]

I don't have that info, sorry . . .

[Born Conservative]

Islet cells are in the pancreas, not the bone marrow. Since you only have 1 pancreas, and that is a necessary organ, they would not let a live person donate this (unlike a kidney, of which you have 2, and can survive on 1). As for bone marrow cells, you are probably referring to stem cells; the technology isn't quite there yet where they can produce islet cells from stem cells.

[ValerieUSA]

My husband had an unsuccessful pancreas/kidney transplant from a cadaver in 1997, and passed away about 3 weeks later at age 42. The quest for a diabetes cure is hard fought, and I hope something other than full organ transplants can be successful without sacrificing the lives and organs of aborted babies.

[null and void]

That's why I have the organ donor sticker on my DL, and have made my wishes QUITE clear to my family...

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the heads up!