Good bye insulin shots (re: islet beta cells)

[Celebration]

If this pans out, it is a huge developmnent. Immunological treatments to stop the attack on islet beta cells would be a good next step (to avoid taking anti rejection drugs).

http://english.donga.com/srv/service.php3?biid=2005092693978

"An international joint research team led by a Korean scientist has developed technology that can mass produce beta cells for diabetes treatments for the first time in the world.

................snip.................

Professor Yoon Ji-won (70), head of the Rosalind Franklin Diabetes Research Center at Chicago Medical School in the U.S. said on September 25 that “with a team led by doctor Gobayashi Nagoya of Okayama University in Japan, we developed a method to mass produce cells that function similarly to pancreatic beta cells in test tubes.”

..........snip.................

The achievement of the research was issued in the online version of “Nature Biotechnology,” a world-renowned academic journal in the biotechnology field, and was adopted as the cover paper in the October issue of this journal.

The team separated beta cells from the pancreas of a normal human body, inserted retrovirus genes in them and manipulated them to let them increase infinitely. Every cell out of those 250 cells was found to have the same function as beta cells in human bodies.

[Missy M]

1. Hopefully this proves to work in humans and animals. What a .....

breakthrough it would be. Diabetes is such a nasty condition.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

2. FAN-TAS-TIC! ! !

of course, stem cell research is pure evil and should be banned because gawd wanted those people to suffer. snarl, growl, snarl.

hot damn. Some very close friends of mine are insulin dependent. This is just awesome.

[trotsky]

3. Wow

Great news for diabetics if this pans out!

[wildhorses]

4. wonderful news

I am so glad to see this

[firefox]

5. The Edmonton Protocol

The Edmonton Protocol cures diabetes by implanting islet cells. Edmonton refers to the Canadian city that was so successful with the islet cell transplants. The procedure is done in Canada, but unless things have changed very recently, it is not allowed in the US. Google "Edmonton Protocol" for more information.

[Celebration]

7. allowed in the US, definitely

Problem has been the relative lack of islet beta cells. It takes two pancreases worth of cadaver cells for the Edmonton protocol.

[firefox]

8. That is news to me

Maybe 3 or 4 months back the subject came up here at DU and one person told of someone having to go to Canada. It sure is good news to hear that the US has got on the bandwagon.

As prominent as diabetes is, the research results should be on the news tonight. It is a beyond-huge development.

[Celebration]

9. various centers

There are various centers doing "studies" and performing the Edmonton protocol here. This is an example--

http://www.tmc.edu/tmcnews/03_01_02/page_01.html

Now I don't think anyone can just plop themselves in and demand that it be done. There aren't enough islet cells, for one thing, so they screen the applicants for whatever characteristics they need for the studies.

With an unlimited supply of islet beta cells (if this report pans out) imagine how fast things could move, assuming Lilly doesn't get involved.

[berni_mccoy]

6. My Son Has Type 1 Diabetes

He was diagnosed in January and we are finally able to control his blood sugar within an 'acceptable' range.

Even with today's technology (insulin pumps, near pain-free blood sugar tests, advanced nutrition, etc), it is difficult to control blood sugar.

Scientists like this are funded by organizations like the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. In fact, this is the only reason why I did not go to the Peace March on D.C. this past weekend. We were in the Walk To Cure Diabetes on Sunday and our family team raised $5000 for this type of research ( http://walk.jdrf.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=extranet.personalpage&confirmid=86104189 ).

The chapter I am in raised at this one event over $100,000 dollars for research just like this.

If you know someone who has type-1 diabetes and they are involved in fund-raising for the JDRF, I strongly urge you to support them. The disease is the fastest growing chronic illness in children and it has devastating effects on the body, even if you do everything you can to control blood sugar.

If that's not enough, the JDRF is a progressive organization. They have sponsored and lobbied the stem-cell legislature which was passed in the House in April and they are convincing conservatives to pass it, veto-proof, in the Senate as I type this post. Furthermore, they have helped get necessary life-sustaining supplies to people with type-1 diabetes who were victims of Katrina. I posted about this when Katrina was happening... how many stories about those with diabetes didn't have the supplies they needed to survive.