For the first time, French researchers have successfully transplant sustainable pancreatic cells producing insulin. It is a promising success. A team of researchers at INSERM, the University and the University Hospital of Lille just published an article highlighting the success of transplants of pancreas cells to combat diabetes type 1 in 14 patients, and this over several years (Diabetes Care, August 2009). The majority of these patients now live without needing insulin injections but in return they must follow a very heavy anti-rejection treatment. Allowing them still to find a life as normal as possible. Some of these patients were able to resume their work.
Diabetes type 1 is caused by lack of insulin production by certain specialized cells of the pancreas. This hormone allows the body to regulate the use and storage of sugar according to the needs of the organization. If insulin is not produced, or too small quantities, the amount of blood sugar (glucose) is too large and leads to all sorts of dysfunction in many organs like the heart, eyes or kidneys .
Insulin is produced by beta cells of the pancreas, also called islets of Langerhans. The destruction of these cells leads to reduced insulin production. In many cases, daily injections of insulin are able to regulate blood sugar. But sometimes, diabetes becomes unstable and injections can no longer control it. For these severe cases, researchers have therefore thought to transplant insulin-producing cells. And apparently found the technique to these cellular grafts, taken from the pancreas of a deceased person has agreed to donate his organs, survive long enough. No one can, however, be certain that the transplant will be permanent.
After donor screening, a rigorous sampling, a careful sorting, storage conditions studied very, Langerhans cells are injected into the patient under general anesthesia by the portal vein toward the liver. Two or three injections take place over two or three months. Patients who underwent treatment no longer needed insulin average 12 days after the last cell transplantation.
After three to six years of monitoring, 11 of 14 patients treated since 2003 (seven men and seven women whose ages ranged from 36 to 51 years and diabetes for more than twenty-five years), were kept blocks functional Langerhans that produce insulin and glucose homeostasis satisfactory. Eight of them (57%) no longer need any insulin. The three patients who lost their graft secondarily returned to their previous situation, after stopping anti-rejection treatment.
Constant monitoring
This is indeed a major drawback of the technique. Because anti-rejection treatment required is powerful and requires constant monitoring to detect and treat any infectious complications and tumor-related decrease in immune defenses.
"Our research shows that diabetes cell therapy is effective and that the initial function of transplanted cells is a key element of his enduring success. But for now, this new therapeutic approach remains restricted to forms of diabetes, the most unstable for which the prognosis is involved, specify François Pattou, Marie-Christine Vantyghem, the two principal authors of these works. The other obstacle to this technique is the lack of pancreas from organ donors. The hope is based on new technologies that could enable the laboratory production of large quantities of human beta cells, especially from embryonic stem cells.
Diabetes type 1 is caused by lack of insulin production by certain specialized cells of the pancreas. This hormone allows the body to regulate the use and storage of sugar according to the needs of the organization. If insulin is not produced, or too small quantities, the amount of blood sugar (glucose) is too large and leads to all sorts of dysfunction in many organs like the heart, eyes or kidneys .
Insulin is produced by beta cells of the pancreas, also called islets of Langerhans. The destruction of these cells leads to reduced insulin production. In many cases, daily injections of insulin are able to regulate blood sugar. But sometimes, diabetes becomes unstable and injections can no longer control it. For these severe cases, researchers have therefore thought to transplant insulin-producing cells. And apparently found the technique to these cellular grafts, taken from the pancreas of a deceased person has agreed to donate his organs, survive long enough. No one can, however, be certain that the transplant will be permanent.
After donor screening, a rigorous sampling, a careful sorting, storage conditions studied very, Langerhans cells are injected into the patient under general anesthesia by the portal vein toward the liver. Two or three injections take place over two or three months. Patients who underwent treatment no longer needed insulin average 12 days after the last cell transplantation.
After three to six years of monitoring, 11 of 14 patients treated since 2003 (seven men and seven women whose ages ranged from 36 to 51 years and diabetes for more than twenty-five years), were kept blocks functional Langerhans that produce insulin and glucose homeostasis satisfactory. Eight of them (57%) no longer need any insulin. The three patients who lost their graft secondarily returned to their previous situation, after stopping anti-rejection treatment.
Constant monitoring
This is indeed a major drawback of the technique. Because anti-rejection treatment required is powerful and requires constant monitoring to detect and treat any infectious complications and tumor-related decrease in immune defenses.
"Our research shows that diabetes cell therapy is effective and that the initial function of transplanted cells is a key element of his enduring success. But for now, this new therapeutic approach remains restricted to forms of diabetes, the most unstable for which the prognosis is involved, specify François Pattou, Marie-Christine Vantyghem, the two principal authors of these works. The other obstacle to this technique is the lack of pancreas from organ donors. The hope is based on new technologies that could enable the laboratory production of large quantities of human beta cells, especially from embryonic stem cells.
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