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May 8, 2008 6:51 pm US/Central
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'U' Testing Injection-Free Procedure For Diabetics
(WCCO)
The University of Minnesota will be one of a few U.S. sites for a new clinical type 1 diabetes trial.
Researchers at the 'U' will try to determine if a medical procedure, called islet transplantation, can become FDA-approved to help people with hard-to-manage type 1 diabetes.
According to researchers, islet transplantation is a procedure that can help people with the inability to sense when their blood sugar is low.
The procedure involves transferring islet cells from a donor pancreas and transplanting them into the liver of someone with type 1 diabetes.
Then the cells sense blood glucose levels and release the appropriate amount of insulin on their own.
Researchers said the result is that the person with diabetes may no longer need to take insulin injections, which are needed to stop other complications of diabetes such as damage to the heart and blood vessels, eyes, nerves and kidneys.
Patients who have already received the treatment say it is changing their lives.
"My life has been a total turnaround," said Lorna Zaworski. She was among the first to receive islet cell transplant at the 'U'. Afterward, she no longer needed daily insulin injections.
"I don't know if I could put that into words. It's been an incredible change. It's been a godsend is what it has been," she said.
It comes with a downside: anti-rejection medications are needed afterward and they cause many difficult side-effects.
Because of that, doctors at the 'U' have been performing the cell transplants only on a select few during trials.
Most diabetics were told there are too many negative side effects for them to risk it.
Dr. Bernhard Hering, from the University of
Minnesota Diabetes
Institute for Immunology and Transplantation, is hoping new research will eliminate problems now associated with islet cell transplant so that it can become appropriate treatment for nearly everyone with Type 1 Diabetes.
The 'U' has completed islet transplantation in 26 people since 2000.
In those trials they found that protection from hypoglycemia started right after the procedure and about 80 percent of those involved were protected five years after the transplant.
Researchers also found about 90 percent of recipients became insulin-independent post-transplant, and more than 50 percent have stayed insulin independent five years after the transplant.
"This is really a major accomplishment," said Hering.
If you have type 1 diabetes and would like to be
considered for an islet cell transplant call the U at 612-626-3016 to find out
if you meet their requirements.
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