Short News
Clinical trial shows that islet cell transplantation is promising for some patients with severe Type 1 Diabetes.
University of Alberta Professor James Shapiro led an international, multicenter trial of the Edmonton Protocol, which had the objective of assessing the ability of transplanted islet cells to regulate blood sugars in Type 1 diabetics. The results of this research were published in The New England Journal of Medicine and showed that islet transplantation has high chances of becoming an appropriate therapy for certain people with severe manifestations of diabetes mellitus.The study analyzed thirty-six volunteers in nine places in North America and Europe. The patients have type 1 diabetes, which means that islets are not able to secrete insulin in these people. Participants received up to three infusions of islets. Of the transplant recipients, 44 per cent did not need insulin shots a year later after the treatment. Moreover, 28 per cent of the transplant recipients had islets with partial function. Although insulin independence was not indefinite and still needed insulin shots in most cases, the diabetes control of these patients was improved.
This multicenter clinical trial was conducted by Immune Tolerance Network and received support from NIAID, NIDDK and JDRF.