Diabetes cured: Living donor cell transplant

ebbomega · #1 (**permalink**) Apr 19, 05

BBC Article

Transplanting pancreas cells from a live donor, her mother, a japanese woman is now producing insulin.

Hells yeah.

baby-phat · #2 (**permalink**) Apr 19, 05

oh wow.. that's awesome!

thebobman · #3 (**permalink**) Apr 19, 05

whoa.

pbreak · #4 (**permalink**) Apr 19, 05

It's really cool that they have something working like this, hopefully soon they will be able to grow the cells instead of having to use a donor who ends up losing half of their pancreas and is now at risk for diabetes themselves.

miss.myra · #5 (**permalink**) Apr 19, 05

I don't need my fing pancreas if it means someone living life a little easier

WHO WANTS A PIECE?

diesskei · #6 (**permalink**) Apr 19, 05

Having lost an uncle to diabetes, and having a half-brother that has diabetes; this article is quite interesting. Hopefully this procedure becomes more common. Thanks for the link.

Draven GD · #7 (**permalink**) Apr 19, 05

that is awsome. i dont know anyone personaly but its good to hear something good in the news every now and again :D

Joanne · #8 (**permalink**) Apr 19, 05

hopefully they can find a cure for type II diabetes too...

--Joanne :P

Goat · #9 (**permalink**) Apr 19, 05

Quote:

Originally Posted by bananasinpjs

hopefully they can find a cure for type II diabetes too...

--Joanne :P

( the cure ) It's called people getting off their fat asses.

Quote:

Transplanting pancreas cells from a live donor, her mother, a japanese woman is now producing insulin.

It's a step forward, but there's still loads of work to be done. I'd like to know how regularly she has to take drugs preventing cell rejection.

Also, it's an estimated 5 year cure only. That's half a live pancrease down the tube, to a good cause don't get me wrong, but what happens when that pancreas no longer functions? Will surgery be required to remove it or will it remain inside her? She's pretty much back to ground zero. Her insulin levels aren't up to snuff quite yet, and another person is increasing their likely hood of the same affliction.

I won't shit my pants in glee, but science has to start somewhere right?

Aki · #10 (**permalink**) Apr 19, 05

they have these types of articles in the newspapers everyday
the closest they've gotten to a cure is islet cell transplants...they're testing on people already and have had positive results. it just hasn't been yet approved in Canada...probably another 5 years, i will be cured!

diva · #11 (**permalink**) Apr 19, 05

what aki and goat said

ppl who receive any sort of transplant have to take anti-rejection meds every day for the rest of their lives

i've heard horror stories about ppl going on vacation and forgetting their meds, or running out of their meds, and not thinking anything about it--because they don't feel sick

a few days later, their body starts attacking the donated organ

also, the anti-rejection meds pretty much destroy the body's immune system, making transplant recipients prone to all the diseases that they'd be able to fight if they hadn't received the transplant in the first place

it's really the lesser of two evils

people who get transplants end up dying within 5-10 years a lot of the time, and have a shitty quality of life

diabetes is far from being cured, but we've sure come a long way from the days before synthetic insulin

Joanne · #12 (**permalink**) Apr 20, 05

Quote:

Originally Posted by Goat

( the cure ) It's called people getting off their fat asses.

not everyone with type II is fat. and although it definitely helps and can cure some, exercise does not cure everyone who has type II diabetes.

also to add to the transplantation topic... there's been lots of talk about islet cell transplantation for quite some time now. aside from live and deceased donors, there have also been ideas over using embryonic stem cells or pancreatic duct cells to create new beta cells (the cells that secret insulin) as well xenotransplantation (the use of animals as donors).

but yeah... rejection is definitely a huge concern that needs further research.. not just with islet cells, but organ transplants in general.

I once worked with a patient who had a kidney transplant and was doing pretty well until it started to reject 10 years later! so unless you've got yourself an identical twin, there's a lot of risks and unpredictability involved with any organ transplantation.

--Joanne :P

Goodfellow · #13 (**permalink**) Apr 20, 05

yahooo! time to get fat and unhealthy :)

Joanne · #14 (**permalink**) Apr 20, 05

Quote:

Originally Posted by GoodFlow

yahooo! time to get fat and unhealthy :)

islet cell transplantation would only benefit those with type I diabetes. you know... the type not associated with obesity. :p

--Joanne :P

soma · #15 (**permalink**) Apr 20, 05

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aki

they have these types of articles in the newspapers everyday
the closest they've gotten to a cure is islet cell transplants...they're testing on people already and have had positive results. it just hasn't been yet approved in Canada...probably another 5 years, i will be cured!

well said my inslulin injecta sista ;)

pbreak · #16 (**permalink**) Apr 20, 05

Quote:

Originally Posted by bananasinpjs

not everyone with type II is fat. and although it definitely helps and can cure some, exercise does not cure everyone who has type II diabetes.

--Joanne :P

I think what goat meant to say was that living a healthy lifestyle and preventing type II diabetes is what people should be doing - the VAST majority of type II diabetes is caused from long term improper diet (hello glycemic index) and lack of exercise, of course you already know this... as well, pretty much once you have type II, even though it generally isn't as severe as type I, there is no getting rid of it without such drastic measures as a transplant (right now at least)...

Basically this whole transplant thing is exciting news especially considering I have a few good friends with diabetes, but as it stands it is not a cure - it is merely a temperary solution with numerous downsides. Hopefully what happens though is their understanding of the islet cells and the pancreas itself will increase dramatically to the point where a permanent solution might finally be available.. but I wouldn't expect it in the next 5 years...