Pancreatic Cell Transplantation: A Breakthrough For Type 1 Diabetes?
The results of a phase 3 clinical trial are being hailed as a "breakthrough" in the treatment of type 1 diabetes, after finding that transplantation of islet cells - clusters of cells in the pancreas that contain insulin-producing cells - prevented potentially life-threatening reductions in blood sugar among patients with the disease. Study co-author Dr. Xunrong Luo, associate professor of medicine and surgery at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, IL, says the findings show that islet cell transplantation is a viable treatment option for type 1 diabetes patients who have severely low blood glucose levels, or hypoglycemia. What is more, the team says the findings suggest islet cell transplantation could eliminate the need for lifelong insulin therapy for people with type 1 diabetes. The researchers recently published their results in Diabetes Care - a journal of the American Diabetes Association. Type 1 diabetes accounts for around 5% of all diabetes cases in the US. It occurs when beta cells within the islets of the pancreas are unable to produce insulin - the hormone that regulates blood glucose levels by promoting transportation of glucose from the bloodstream to other cells, where it is used for energy. Individuals with type 1 diabetes require lifelong treatment with insulin, either through multiple daily injections with an insulin pen, syringes or an insulin pump, which helps regulate blood glucose. However, even with treatment, some people with type 1 diabetes continue to experience fluctuations in blood sugar levels. Hypoglycemia and its life-threatening complications Hypoglycemia occurs when blood sugar drops to abnormally low levels, normally below 70 mg/dL. Early warning signs of hypoglycemia include shakiness, sweating, confusion, Continue reading >>
Cure For Diabetes: Breakthrough Could End Insulin Shots For Good
A new scientific breakthrough could have found the cure for diabetes. The breakthrough has cured diabetes in mice – with no side effects. The research comes from a UT Health San Antonio report which describes the process as using a gene transfer which can increase the types of cells in the pancreas that produce insulin. Researchers said they aim to reach human clinical trials within the next three years. “It worked perfectly,” assistant professor of medicine at UT Health, Dr Bruno Diron said. “We cured mice for one year without any side effects. That’s never been seen. “But it’s a mouse model, so caution is needed. We want to bring this to large animals that are closer to humans in physiology of the endocrine system.” Ralph DeFronzo, M.D., professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Diabetes at UT Health described how the therapy works: “The pancreas has many other cell types besides beta cells, and our approach is to alter these cells so that they start to secrete insulin, but only in response to glucose [sugar]. This is basically just like beta cells.” Insulin, which diabetic people take injections of in order to keep their blood sugar levels at bay, are made up of beta cells. In Type 1 diabetes, these cells are destroyed by the immune system and so the patient is left without insulin. In Type 2 diabetes, the beta cells fail and insulin decreases – with Type 2 the body also does not use insulin efficiently. If the procedure can be replicated successfully in humans, this could have the potential to cure Type 1 diabetes. Continue reading >>
August Type 1 Diabetes Research Update
Recently, the media has been full of stories highlighting new and emerging advancements in type 1 diabetes research and devices. With such an influx of information it can be difficult keep up with all of the exciting developments taking place around the world. To shine a light on some of these, we’ve composed a short list of some of the most exciting stories emerging in the past few months. Type 1 Diabetes Cured in Mice In May, researchers from the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio announced they have found a way to cure type 1 diabetes in mice. This comes after research spanning the past few years has investigated replacing the insulin-producing beta cells of the pancreas, which are destroyed in cases of type 1 diabetes. Medical News Today reports that rather than replace these beta cells, Dr Bruno Doiron and his team at the university have used a method of gene transfer to help trigger other pancreatic cells to produce insulin. This technique is called Cellular Networking, Integration and Processing and has led to long-term insulin secretion and blood glucose regulation in mice with no adverse side effects. As always with studies tested on animals, more research is required before this technique can be trialled in humans, though it is projected that trials could commence sometime in the next three years. ‘Artificial Pancreas’ Trials in Australia Closer to home, an exciting Australia-first study will see people from across the country fitted with an ‘artificial pancreas.’ When speaking to JDRF Australia, Professor Tim Jones, co-director of the Children’s Diabetes Centre at the Telethon Kids Institute said, “The hybrid closed-loop system consists of an insulin pump, [continuous glucose monitoring (CGM)] sensor with transmitter attach Continue reading >>
New Treatment On The Horizon For Type 1 Diabetes Sufferers
Patients suffering from type 1 diabetes may soon have access to improved approaches to treat the disease, courtesy of new research out of Sydney's Westmead Institute for Medical Research. The team of researchers, led by Professor Jenny Gunton, discovered that pancreatic islets transplants delivered into the quadriceps muscle work just as successfully as the current clinical practice of transplanting islets into a patient's liver via the portal vein. Lead researcher Ms Rebecca Stokes said that transplants into the liver can present certain risks for the patient, so their research investigated safer and more beneficial treatment options for transplant recipients. "Islets are cells in the pancreas that produce insulin," Ms Stokes explained. "Pancreatic islet transplantation is used as a cure for type 1 diabetes as it allows the recipient to produce and regulate insulin after their own islet cells have been destroyed by the disease. "Currently, islet transplants are infused into a patient's liver via the portal vein. This site is used for islet transplants due to its exposure to both nutrients and insulin in the body. "However, islet infusion into the liver also presents certain risks for the patient, including potential complications from bleeding, blood clots and portal hypertension. "This suggests that there may be better treatment options for patients receiving islet transplants. "We investigated alternative transplantation sites for human and mouse islets in recipient mice, comparing the portal vein with quadriceps muscle and kidney, liver and spleen capsules. "Colleagues in Professor Wayne Hawthorne's group also tested similar sites for pig islet transplants in their companion paper. "Professor Hawthorne's research examining xenotransplantation - the process of transp Continue reading >>
City Of Hope Aims To Cure Type 1 Diabetes In Six Years
It’s an extraordinary goal powered by an extraordinary gift. City of Hope’s Diabetes & Metabolism Research Institute is committed to developing a cure for type 1 diabetes (T1D) within six years, fueled by a $50 million funding program led by the Wanek family. It seems an audacious goal for a comprehensive cancer center, but City of Hope has a long history of groundbreaking work in diabetes. Research conducted by City of Hope led to the development of synthetic human insulin, which is still used today by many of the estimated 1.5 million Americans with T1D and 27 million with type 2 diabetes (T2D). “City of Hope is best positioned to take on this challenge,” said Robert W. Stone, president and chief executive officer of City of Hope. “This is thanks to our 40-year institutional legacy of pioneering treatment and research advances in diabetes.” The funding for the transformative research needed to embark on such an endeavor is led by a gift from the Wanek family, which owns Ashley Furniture Industries, the world’s largest home furniture manufacturer. “City of Hope scientists’ research has revolutionized the understanding and treatment of diabetes,” said Todd Wanek, chief executive officer of Ashley Furniture, speaking on behalf of his family. “It continues today as physicians and scientists gain systemic understanding of diabetes as a complex, multifaceted disease.” Through the generosity of the family and gifts from an anonymous donor, City of Hope will be able to devote more than $50 million over the next six years to an unprecedented research effort: The Wanek Family Project for Type 1 Diabetes at City of Hope. A Multifaceted Approach The Wanek Family Project will result in the creation of a series of highly focused programs at City of Hope. The Continue reading >>
Type 1 Cured In Mice
Ralph DeFronzo and his researchers at UT Health at San Antonio announced that they have cured type 1 diabetes. Researchers think they have found a way to trick the body into curing type 1 diabetes that may also have a great impact possibly for type 2 diabetes. Even though it was only in mice, this could be very positive, even with years of testing still remaining. Doctor Ralph DeFronzo, chief of the diabetes research at the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, says that this way of doing a gene transfer can wake up cells in the pancreas to produce insulin. The immune system of a person with diabetes kills off useful “beta” cells, but the researchers say they have found a way to make other cells in the pancreas perform the necessary work. Their approach, announced earlier this month in the academic journal Current Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, not only would have implications for type 1, but also could help treat the far more common type 2 diabetes. The researchers have cured mice, which are genetically similar to people but different enough that new rounds of animal testing are needed before human trials can begin. This approach is sure to attract skeptics, in part because it is a significant departure from the many other attempts at curing diabetes, which typically involve transplanting new cells and/or suppressing the immune system’s attempts to kill off useful ones. By contrast, “we’re taking a cell that is already present in the body and programming it to secrete insulin, without changing it otherwise,” said DeFronzo. Diabetes is a disease characterized by a person’s inability to process carbohydrates, a condition that if untreated can lead to often-catastrophic health consequences. The core problem is insulin. Most people naturally secrete that su Continue reading >>
Dr Bart Roep: The Man Who Wants To Cure Type 1 Diabetes Within Six Years
'The C-word is controversial within diabetes circles, yet the City of Hope had no reticence about making the claim.' - Jack Woodfield. Dr Bart Roep is the director of the diabetes research facilityat the City of Hope's Diabetes and Metabolism Research Institute. Born in the Netherlands, he leads a team whose mission is to cure type 1 diabetes, and while their ambitions are lofty, so is their early success. In March, Dr Roep's team published the results of a 14-year-boy with type 1 diabetes who underwent stem cell transplantation. The boy has since been free from insulin without any side effects for eight years. This, Dr Roep said, was the first definitive proof that type 1 diabetes can be cured. But there are still several critical questions to be answered. Dr Roep acknowledges that cure is "a dangerous word to use" in regard to type 1 diabetes research. "What we are trying to do is understand why people get type 1 diabetes and to translate this to find a cure," Roep said. "That is, of course, a dangerous word to use. But we think that we are onto a couple of leads." One of these leads is islet cell transplantation, a procedure that involves transplanting islet (insulin-producing) cells into patients from donor pancreases. In some cases, the transplants can help a patient come off insulin, but other times the cells are rejected or attacked by the immune system unless immunosuppressant drugs are also given, which can cause side effects. Dr Roep's team made a significant discovery along the way: by reading the immune signatures of patients they were able to predict how successful transplantation would be. Dr Roep says this is the first step towards personalising medicine in type 1 diabetes. "It turns out we can predict before surgery who has a fantastic chance of lasting Continue reading >>
9 Diabetes Breakthroughs You Need To Know About
Diabetes is not just one condition - but whether your body is struggling with blood sugar levels due to type 1, or type 2, or even only during pregnancy, it's a serious condition that requires daily care and still doesn't have a cure. But scientists have been working hard to find cures, new treatments, and better management techniques for the millions of people worldwide dealing with diabetes. Here are some of the latest developments you need to know about. 1. Brand new beta cells. Type 1 diabetes develops when a person's immune system wipes out insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas. But it turns out that another type of immature beta cell has been hiding in our pancreases all along, and scientists think it might be possible to use these 'virgin beta cells' to restore the functionality of the pancreas. 2. A preventative vaccine. Finnish researchers are about to embark on the first-ever clinical trial for a type 1 diabetes prevention vaccine. While it's not a cure for those who already have the condition, a successful vaccine could potentially prevent thousands of cases each year, as the vaccine targets a virus linked with the development of an autoimmune reaction in the pancreas. 3. A unique transplant. One woman with severe type 1 diabetes has spent a year without insulin injections thanks to an experimental transplant. Doctors implanted insulin-producing cells into a fatty membrane in the stomach cavity, and the success of the operation is paving the way towards more people receiving artificial pancreases. 4. New pancreas tissue. Earlier this year scientists announced that they reversed type 1 diabetes in mice by giving them a transplant of pancreatic tissue. The tissue was grown using stem cells from non-diabetic mice, and the success of this method suggests i Continue reading >>
Under-skin Transplants Show Promise For Type 1 Diabetes
In theory, transplanting insulin-producing cells into the body should work as a treatment for type 1 diabetes. However, in practice, researchers face many challenges, especially in finding a non-hostile environment for the cells. Now, a new study describes a tissue engineering approach that may create a suitable environment under the skin. In the journal Proceeding of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers from the Institute of Biomaterials & Biomedical Engineering (IBBME) at the University of Toronto in Canada describe how they developed and tested their subcutaneous transplant method in a mouse model of type 1 diabetes. A significant feature of the study is that the transplant method uses tissue engineering to generate blood vessels that integrate with the host's blood supply. Insulin-producing cells are very sensitive to lack of oxygen, and inadequate blood supply is a problem that has dogged previous attempts to transplant them. Type 1 diabetes destroys islet cells Diabetes is a chronic disease that develops when the body cannot stop blood sugar or glucose getting too high. If untreated, high blood sugar, or hyperglycemia, damages many parts of the body, including the heart, kidneys, eyes, nerves, and blood vessels. Insulin - a hormone that is produced in the pancreas - is the body's main regulator of blood sugar. It helps cells to take in sugar and use it for energy. In people with type 1 diabetes, their immune system destroys the islet cells in their pancreas that produce insulin. In type 2 diabetes, the body produces insulin but cannot use it effectively. There are approximately 30.3 million people living with diabetes in the United States. Type 1 diabetes, which accounts for around 5 percent of diabetes, is most often diagnosed in childhood, or during the Continue reading >>
Researcher May Have Found A Cure For Diabetes
The most common form of treatment for Type 1 diabetes involves monitoring glucose levels and injecting insulin several times a day. Ending the world’s diabetes epidemic could be one step closer, with a promising new technique curing the condition in mice. Scientists at the University of Texas announced the breakthrough, which uses a novel approach that may eliminate Type 1 diabetes and see painful insulin injections become a thing of the past. University of Texas Health Science Center doctors used a virus as a carrier to introduce insulin-producing genes into the pancreas of rodent subjects. Professor Ralph DeFronzo said researchers altered cells so they secreted insulin, but only in response to glucose — mimicking the behavior of the body’s beta cells. This study bypasses the autoimmune system by altering other pancreatic cells so they can co-exist with immune defenses — unlike beta cells, which are rejected in Type 1 patients. At the moment, Type 1 diabetes is treated by monitoring glucose levels and injecting artificial insulin several times a day. While technology has made management of the condition easier, a cure has been elusive — until now. The patent’s co-inventor, Professor Bruno Doiron, said the results had never been seen before. “It worked perfectly,” Doiron said. “We cured mice for one year without any side effects.” Doiron predicted the same low-risk response in humans. “If a Type 1 diabetic has been living with these cells for 30, 40 or 50 years, and all we’re getting them to do is secrete insulin, we expect there to be no adverse immune response.” DeFronzo said the same method of treatment has been approved almost 50 times by the US Food and Drug Administration to treat various conditions, including rare childhood diseases. Whi Continue reading >>
Giant Breakthrough In Type 1 Diabetes Research
Diabetes Ireland is delighted to hear of the Harvard success and congratulate Professor Melton and colleagues on figuring out the complex series of steps necessary to turn stem cells into beta cells. Hopefully, they can negotiate the regulations for mass production so that an abundant supply of beta cells is available an new and innovative methods will be developed to cure/treat Type 1 diabetes. Type I diabetes is an autoimmune condition whereby the body kills off its own beta (insulin producing) cells resulting in the need for daily insulin administration through the skin. Replacing beta cells in the first step towards a cure, but the replaced beta cells need to be protected from the body’s autoimmune response. This means protecting them in a coating or taking drugs to prevent the response (possible worse side effects than diabetes). While excited about this major step towards a cure, it may be many years before this is widely available. Other cure options on the horizon include technology cures which may be less invasive. So for people with Type 1 diabetes, there is hope of seeing a cure during your lifetime and therefore, ensure you stay healthy so that when available you can avail of it. Dr Anna Clarke, Health Promotion Manager, Diabetes Ireland Professor Melton’s research project explained Our research partners in the UK, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), have been heavily involved with this project. So what is it? A new method for converting stem cells to beta cells could speed encapsulated cell replacement product development and research to cure type 1 diabetes Insulin therapy has long been the only method of treating type 1 diabetes (T1D), but a major breakthrough in producing replacement beta cells is bringing new hope that more effective, alte Continue reading >>
Breakthrough Stem Cell Technology In Type 1 Diabetes
A regenerative therapy company, known as Viacyte, just announced that a few patients have successfully been implanted with a pouch of stem cells they manufacture. The technology is called the PEC-Direct and consists in replacing lost stem cells in patients with type 1 diabetes with new fully functional ones to reconstitute their stock. It may seem like a straightforward procedure and a possible cure, but the process involves manipulating - though with immunosuppressive drugs - the immune system of these patients and there is always the risk of rejection. The trial took place at the University of Alberta Hospital in Edmonton, Alberta, and UC san Diego School of Medicine's Atman Clinical Trials Research Institute. The scientists trialled and assessed PEC-Direct both for safety and efficacy there and, in the coming months, other centres like the University of Minnesota will do the same. The name of the game is to collect as much data as possible to understand and document all possible outcomes of using this method to grow or regrow the stem cell population. The stem cells used are what's called Human Embryonic Stem Cells (hESC) found in early placental development, not to be confused with placenta-derived stem cells (p-SCs). The objective with this technology is that these hESC eventually differentiate into stem cell-derived pancreatic PEC-01™ cells and new pancreatic tissue. The whole process can take up to 15 days. The first cohort of patients who tested it for the first time received the precious stem cells packaged into immunoprotective durable devices, called sentinels, to facilitate their vascularisation and measure their viability. These can be easily removed at any moment to gather insights as to what stage in their development are the stem cells at, the latest p Continue reading >>
Scientists May Have Found A Functional Cure For Type-1 Diabetes
Type-1 diabetes is a chronic condition that affects an estimated 42 million people worldwide, and occurs when the pancreas produces little to no insulin. Those with the condition must take supplemental insulin so their bodies can process sugars. But now, researchers at ViaCyte, a regenerative medicine company, have some good news: They're working on a therapy based on stem cells that can automatically release insulin into the body when it's needed. The treatment is specifically aimed at patients with high-risk type-1 diabetes. ViaCyte estimates that around 140,000 people in the US and Canada suffer from the condition, which can cause life-threatening events. The use of stem cells to replace pancreatic insulin cells has been tried before, but without much success. ViaCyte's approach shows promise because the stem cells can mature within the body itself through an implant the company calls PEC-Direct. There has already been a round of clinical trials to test whether the stem cells could fully grow into the type of cells necessary to produce insulin -- called islet cells. That was a success. But the number of cells within the implants wasn't enough to actually treat the patients; it was solely to test whether the cells could, in fact, be grown. Now, in coordination with JDRF, an organization that funds type-1 diabetes research, ViaCyte has implanted PEC-Directs into two patients as a trial. It's important to note that this isn't a full cure. It's what ViaCyte President and CEO Paul Laikind calls "a functional cure." It doesn't address and treat the specific causes of the condition. Additionally, patients using this treatment would be required to take immunosuppressive drugs to protect the created cells from the body's immune system, according to New Scientist. Regardless, Continue reading >>
Scientists Cure Type 1 Diabetes For A Year Without Side Effects
A potential cure for Type 1 diabetes looms on the horizon – and the novel approach would also allow Type 2 diabetics to stop insulin shots. The treatment totally cured diabetes in mice for an entire year without any side effects. The discovery, made at UT Health San Antonio, works by increasing the types of pancreatic cells that secrete insulin. “It worked perfectly,” said Dr. Bruno Doiron, assistant professor of medicine at UT Health. “We cured mice for one year without any side effects. That’s never been seen.” CHECK OUT: First Ever Quadriplegic Treated With Stem Cells Regains Motor Control in His Upper Body Insulin, which lowers blood sugar, is only made by beta cells. In Type 1 diabetes, beta cells are destroyed by the immune system and the person has no insulin. In Type 2 diabetes, beta cells fail and insulin decreases. At the same time in Type 2, the body doesn’t use insulin efficiently. The therapy is accomplished by a technique called gene transfer. A virus is used as a vector, or carrier, to introduce selected genes into the pancreas. These genes become incorporated and cause digestive enzymes and other cell types to make insulin. Unlike beta cells, which the body rejects in Type 1 diabetes, the other cell populations of the pancreas co-exist with the body’s immune defenses. Gene transfer using a viral vector has been approved nearly 50 times by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat various diseases. MORE: After Marrying On Her ‘Deathbed,’ This Bride Made a Miraculous Recovery After Quitting 1 Food “The pancreas has many other cell types besides beta cells, and our approach is to alter these cells so that they start to secrete insulin, but only in response to glucose [sugar],” said co-inventor Ralph DeFronzo. “This is basicall Continue reading >>
Immune Systems Of Type 1 Diabetics Can Be Retrained To Stop Destroying Insulin, Scientists Show
Immune systems of type 1 diabetics can be retrained to stop destroying insulin, scientists show Scientists have shown for the first time that the immune system can be retrained to stop it attacking insulin producing beta cellsCredit:Bill Cheyrou / Alamy The damaged immune systems of diabetics can be retrained to stop them destroying insulin, scientists believe, following successful trials of a pioneering new therapy. Researchers at Kings College London and Cardiff University showed that injecting patients with tiny protein fragments prevented immune cells from targeting vital insulin. Type 1 diabetes develops when a patient's immune system mistakenly attacks the insulin producing beta cells in the pancreas. Without treatment the number of beta cells will slowly decrease and the body will no longer be able to maintain normal blood sugar (blood glucose) levels, leading to patients needing daily injections. involving 27 people showed it was possible to halt the loss of beta cells with fortnightly or monthly injections for six months. There were also no toxic side-effects. The new treatment stops immune cells (t-cells) attacking beta cells which produce insulin A placebo group who were not given the new treatment declined over the same period, while the trial patients all remained stable. The team is now planning larger trials. Professor Mark Peakman, of Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust and King's College London, said: "When someone is diagnosed with type 1 diabetes they still typically have between 15 per cent and 20 per cent of their beta cells. We wanted to see if we could protect these remaining cells by retraining the immune system to stop attacking them. "We still have a long way to go, but these early results suggest we are heading in the right direction. T Continue reading >>
