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Poznansky has developed a process to keep “killer” cells away from transplanted tissue, specifically islets, by deceiving them into not recognizing new tissues containing beta cells as foreign.
What if we could forecast which people would suffer from Type 1 diabetes years before it happened?
Bariatric surgery early in the course of a patient’s diabetes is far more likely to produce remission, and sustained improvements in blood pressure and cholesterol levels, than the same procedure performed as a “last resort.”
Delivering mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) during islet transplantation more than doubled islet function, enhanced islet survival and reversed rejection episodes. Embedded in the DRI’s recently announced BioHub “mini organ,” MSCs could lead to long-lasting or even permanent cures for people with type 1 diabetes.
Meet Dr. Cherie Stabler, Director of Tissue Engineering at the Diabetes Research Institute. She’s helping build a home for cells far too tiny for the eye to see, but critical to a diabetes cure.
“We’re exploring using materials that release, slowly, low amounts of drugs at the implant site for many years. Instead of a future with daily pills or injections, it’s feasible to have patients come in every three, five or seven years and have the BioHub refilled or replaced.”
You’ve read the story; now, watch the movie. Meet the people and explore the science behind BioHub, the Diabetes Research Institute’s new “mini-organ,” a possible implantable cure for Type 1 diabetes.
“The BioHub is a localized micro-environment,” said Ricordi. “It is a quantum leap in cell therapy to replace insulin-producing cells that are destroyed by diabetes.” Is this the breakthrough we’ve been waiting for?
New Cleveland Clinic study shows two-year diabetes remission and normal pancreatic function in many Type 2 patients who underwent gastric bypass surgery.
“It’s a lot like shrink wrapping,” said Dr. Alice Tomei of the islet cell encapsulation technique she uses. This “conformal coating” technology is just one way researchers at Miami’s Diabetes Research Institute protect transplanted islet cells.
Bariatric Surgeries Can Cure Type 2 Diabetes. But They’re No Free Lunch.
Marla Evans hated diabetes and the lifestyle changes good glycemic control demanded of her. She described herself as a “denial diabetic” after her initial Type 2 diagnosis in 2004, when she was 49. Six daily medications slowed but didn’t stop her diabetes, because diet changes and exercise weren’t part of her life. By 2007, her weight of 220 was at least 70 pounds too high.
The Diabetes Research Institute’s “oxygen sandwich” may help Chris Fraker and his coworkers make islet cell transplantation — and a cure — more accessible to Type 1s.
Scientists at Miami’s Diabetes Research Institute, led by Dr. Camillo Ricordi, believe they are closing in on a cure.
