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Diabetes and Adoption
Rachel and her husband chose to adopt a baby instead of meeting the challenges of handling a high risk pregnancy and Rachel’s type 1 diabetes at the same time. She shares their thought process and ultimate happy ending about the decision to bring a child into their lives.
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Chris Matthews Makes Time for Diabetes
Hosting Hardball on MSNBC and The Chris Matthews Show keep Chris Matthews working long hours. But Matthews got a lesson in priorities and made some life changes when he was diagnosed with type 2.
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A Chihuahua with Diabetes
Olivia and her dog both have diabetes and today they comfort and encourage each other through the rigors of dealing with the disease. Plus, find out what it means when your domestic pet is diagnosed with diabetes.
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Smoking and Diabetes
Smoking has severe effects on your diabetes and your health. Learn why diabetes and smoking are an especially bad combination and get some tips from the experts on how to quit.
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Continuous Glucose Monitors
CGM is a relatively new technology, but the information it provides is invaluable. Find out what CGM offers and whether it could help you.
The must-have resource for physicians, educators and medical professionals who focus on the treatment of diabetes.
Finally! A fresh take on the “professional” journal. Each bi-monthly issue cuts through the jargon and presents the most important information you need to enhance your practice and assist your patients.
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Latest Type 1 Issues Articles
Pig Islets after 7 Days in Culture - Feb 2007 - Photo courtesy Dr. Bernhard Hering
Pig Islets Still Producing Insulin After Ten Years In Diabetic Man
Apr 12, 2007
Ten years ago, Michael Helyer, a New Zealand man with type 1 diabetes for eighteen years, received a transplant of pig islets. Much to the surprise of researchers, the pig cells are still putting out insulin at this late date. In fact, it was Mr. Helyer who alerted scientists at Living Cell Technologies (LCT) that the cells were still functioning.
Mr. Helyer received the alginate-encapsulated neonatal pig islet cell injection into his abdomen in 1996, at age 41. By twelve weeks after the transplant, the islets were going strong, reducing Mr. Helyers need for insulin by thirty percent. Porcine (pig) C-peptide was detectable in his urine for eleven months. Although his insulin had returned to pre-transplant levels by week 49, improvement in control continued: his A1c at fourteen months was 7.8%, as compared to a previous 9.3%. After that, however, formal testing ceased until Mr. Helyer brought himself to the attention of scientists at LCT nearly ten years later.
When Mr. Helyer was given a laparoscopy at that time, abundant nodules were still seen throughout his peritoneum (the membrane lining his abdominal cavity). Biopsies of the nodules showed capsules containing live cell clusters, and the retrieved capsules produced a little insulin when placed in high glucose concentrations in a test tube. When Mr. Helyer was given an oral glucose tolerance test, it produced a small rise in insulin that tested out as pig insulin.
Scientists at LCT are just now set to begin a trial in Russia of such transplants. (See the article Pig Islets Soon Tested in Humans in our April/May issue for more information on that enterprise.) According to LCT, more advanced versions of Mr. Helyer's pig cell therapy, using neonatal pig islets encapsulated in an alginate gel, could be available within two years if the planned human trials are successful.
Sources: Xenotransplantation
Reuters
The Australian.com
See our recent article on Pig Islet Transplantation, “Dr. Hering Pig Islet Pioneer”, and view the entire interview on Diabetes Health TV.
Categories: Artificial Pancreas, Islet & Pancreas Transplant, Type 1 Issues
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