Insulin Independence

Reported October 2005

CHARLOTTE (Ivanhoe Broadcast News) -- Diabetic patients who couldn't live without insulin injections are now enjoying insulin independence thanks to a new type of transplant.

Annie Anderson has a refreshing outlook on life, but that wasn't the case a few months ago. Anderson, an islet cell transplant patient says, "Totally unaware of where I was ... didn't know what had happened ... very confused -- I couldn't speak. My mind was working, but I couldn't get words out." Anderson is describing the scene that unfolded when her diabetes caused her to slip into unconsciousness. Episodes like that are no longer a threat for her. Becasue her type 1 diabetes was corrected through an experimental cell transplant.

Paul Gores, M.D., director of pancreas and islet transplantation at Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, N.C., says, "An islet cell transplant is a means of reversing diabetes in a patient who has lost their beta cells, which are the important cells within the little clusters of cells we call islets, which reside inside the pancreas, which produce insulin."

Transplant surgeons go through a painstaking 14-hour process to isolate and purify the islet cells from a donated pancreas. Those cells will produce insulin. Patients who go through the procedure must take immune-suppressing drugs for life with no guarantee the success will last. Dr. Gores says, "Of course, we don't know that at six, seven, eight, nine years maybe the insulin production they have right now might just totally go away and they might get totally back to square one."

For Anderson, there is no question the transplant was the right choice. She says, "It's totally changed my life, and I am so fortunate and grateful."

The longest study shows about 80 percent of patients still produce some insulin five years after their islet cell transplant, but not enough to continue to go without insulin injections. Only about 2 percent of type 1 diabetics are considered candidates for islet cell transplantation at this point, but doctors hope that number will increase.

Click here to Go Inside This Science or contact:

Grace Sauzier
(704) 355-6359
grace.sauzier@carolinashealthcare.org

For more information about diabetes, please contact:

American Diabetes Association
ATTN: National Call Center
1701 North Beauregard Street
Alexandria, VA 22311
(800) 342-2383
http://www.diabetes.org




Click here to watch the video.

Trouble playing the piano? A new, smaller piano may help you make beautiful music.

170,000 Americans are diagnosed with lung cancer each year. Now a new surgery helps patients recover faster.

Protect your children and your pets. Keep your lawn green and growing without chemicals!

Firefighters put their lives on the line every day ... Now there's a new device to help protect them during a disaster!

New car technology might offer your wallet some relief when you fill up!

A new, easier device to help people use their cell phone, computer & iPod!

A new technique is helping doctors find cancer they can't even see.

Explosions ... earthquakes ... fire! Whatever the disaster, firefighters have a new tool to use before they rush in for a rescue.

Do you spend a lot of time on a computer? A new invention may save your hands and arms from hurting.

A new therapy is helping some diabetics say goodbye to insulin shots.

Not enough money and too many tests! Schools are cutting field trips from the budget. Now there is a new way for kids to experience the world without leaving the classroom.

Wind Farms may be the energy source of the future -- but they could make the weather dryer and hotter!