CHICAGO - Next to obesity, diabetes is the biggest scourge that threatens to swamp the globe. It is estimated that more than 20 million people worldwide suffer from this disease and many more are on their way to falling a victim to it. Needless to say, diabetes is a major research field and anything that helps avoid this condition is welcome news.
Researchers at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis have provided precisely this type of news at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America in Chicago. Lead researcher Saravanan Krishnamoorthy, MD presented findings which throw light on an experimental treatment that transplants insulin-producing beta cells of the islet of Langerhans in the pancreas.
Diabetes is basically caused by a deficiency of the hormone, insulin, which is responsible for converting food into energy-giving glucose. These islet cells were transplanted into the liver by means of ultrasound guidance. It also emerged that the researchers successfully controlled the excessive bleeding that is associated with the procedure by mans of a "sandwich" technique.
Dr Krishnamoorthy said that this technique is minimally invasive and could be undertaken as a outpatient procedure, although there are still some problems that need to be overcome before this becomes a reality. It could also help millions of sufferers of type 1 diabetes lead a normal life as far as possible.
Other studies and procedures have tried implanting the islet cells into the pancreas itself, but as with any transplantation, powerful immune suppressive drugs have to be given to the patients in order to avoid organ rejection and potential complications.
In the current study, Dr. Krishnamoorthy said that 15 patients had undergone islet-cell transplantation with the minimally-invasive between 2002 and 2005. All patients were type 1 diabetes sufferers, who depended on insulin shots to keep them going. It was found that after one month 13 of the 15 patients had stopped depending on these injections.
"This study was part of a larger multi-center trial on islet cell transplantation that has found after one year that 80 percent [of participants] don't need insulin any more," said Krishnamoorthy. However, much more needs to be done before the procedure can be commonly undertaken, he cautioned.
