The aim of cell therapy is to restore a biological function deficient by the secretion of insulin. The technique used by researchers from Inserm and the medical teams of the CHU of Lille is to transplant in diabetic patients new pancreatic cells healthy. These cells are prepared in the laboratory from a donor pancreas and then administered to the patient by infusion into the vein of the liver, where they will relocate to secrete insulin and regulate blood sugar. For now, this new therapeutic approach remains restricted to forms of diabetes, the most unstable for which the prognosis is engaged. The need for a powerful anti-rejection treatment is, indeed, a major obstacle. This treatment requires careful monitoring for early identification and treatment of infectious complications and tumor (skin in particular) favored by lower immune defenses.
For now, the benefit seems to be largely offset the risks associated with transplantation. Only long-term monitoring of a larger number of patients will confirm that. A second obstacle to development on a larger scale cell transplantation is the limited availability of human pancreas from organ donors coordinated by the Agency for Biomedicine. Several recent studies still leave open the possibility to produce laboratory quantities of cells required, particularly from embryonic stem cells.
For now, the benefit seems to be largely offset the risks associated with transplantation. Only long-term monitoring of a larger number of patients will confirm that. A second obstacle to development on a larger scale cell transplantation is the limited availability of human pancreas from organ donors coordinated by the Agency for Biomedicine. Several recent studies still leave open the possibility to produce laboratory quantities of cells required, particularly from embryonic stem cells.
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