Every year since 1940, the American Diabetes Association has brought doctors, researchers, clinicians, and industry together for an annual event they call the Scientific Sessions. The name is apt. This is a serious gathering, not an excuse to party, and the titles of many presentations would leave those who didn’t fare well in their high… Continue reading ADA Scientific Sessions 2013: A Pause Before The “Next Big Thing”
Tag: Cure Insight
Four-Legged Islet Factories: The Pigs of Auckland Island
A herd of pigs from a remote island in the south Pacific Ocean hold the promise of a virtually endless supply of beta cell-filled islets. The breeder, Living Cell Technologies, hopes to create a demand for islet transplants as long-term therapy in millions of people with Type 1 diabetes…
Putting Killer Cells in Reverse: The Hidden Power of CXCL12
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.
A Type 1 Triple Play
What if we could forecast which people would suffer from Type 1 diabetes years before it happened?
Mending Metabolism
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.”
Stemming the Tide of Immune Response
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.
Small Wonders On A Cellular Battlefield
“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.”
A Safe House for Islets
“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?
Games Cells Play: Protecting Islet Transplants
“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.
Operating On Diabetes
Bariatric Surgeries Can Cure Type 2 Diabetes. But They’re No Free Lunch.
A Cure Out Of Thin Air?
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.
Inside the Hope Factory
Scientists at Miami’s Diabetes Research Institute, led by Dr. Camillo Ricordi, believe they are closing in on a cure.
