Researchers A Step Further In Type 1 Diabetes Treatment; Single Infusion Of Islet Cells Surpasses Previous Success

Researchers at the University of Minnesota's Diabetes Institute for Immunology and Transplantation (DIIT) and the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) Diabetes Center have achieved insulin independence in four of six patients with long-term Type 1 diabetes using one infusion of insulin-producing "islet" cells from a single donor pancreas. Individuals in whom Type 1 diabetes was complicated by hypoglycemic unawareness participated in this trial. The combination of improved islet preparation techniques and optimized recipient immunosuppression contributed to the successful study outcome. Insulin independence has now been maintained for more than one year in four recipients, for more than two years in three recipients, and for more than three years in two recipients. The study, funded primarily by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, is published in the March issue of the American Journal of Transplantation.