Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

UK Doctors Cure Type 1 Diabetes

Posted by timothy on from the that's-what-they-tell-you-anyway dept.

ayden writes "The BBC is reporting that a 61-year-old man has become the first person in the UK to be cured of type 1 diabetes thanks to a groundbreaking cell-transplant technique. More info here."

8 of 96 comments (clear)

  1. One word... by trentfoley · · Score: 4, Funny

    Sweet

    1. Re:One word... by daeley · · Score: 4, Funny

      Sweet

      You must have lived a very insulinated life to make a joke like that.

      --
      I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate.
  2. Re:Good news! by RootsLINUX · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Agreed. I'm also at risk for developing diabetes. Hopefully we'll see the method mature and grow more effective.

    On a side note, if they can extract the pancreas cells from dead donors, then why do they claim to have a major shortage of them? I imagine that they only need to borrow a small sliver of the dead donor's pancreas and not the whole whopper, so one dead donor can help cure tens, maybe hundreds of afflicted patients? But then again I have no idea how many people in the UK don't mind donating their organs after they're dead. Personally I see no reason not to. Spread the love, share the life! =D

    --
    Hero of Allacrost, a FOSS RPG for *NIX/*BSD/OS X/Win
  3. The only drawback by SimianOverlord · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Is the anti-rejection drug regime. It can cause problems down the line with side-effects and with the immune system somewhat compromised, a susceptibility to infection.

    If stem cell research continues at the rate it does, even this will be solved when cord blood stored at the patients birth is encouraged to differentiate into Eyelet cells, injected back into the patient years later and begin producing insulin. No rejection problems with your own-tissue-derived cells.

    Also, this, as far as I am aware, will not help with Insulin-independent diabetic conditions.

    USians, consider writing to your senator to protest Bush policies on Stem cell research. I'm not having a pop at him - fair enough if it's a moral issue to some folks. Just register your opinion with them. It can't hurt.

    --
    Meine Schwester ist sehr, sehr reizvoll - Nietzsche
  4. The biggest problem... by Oen_Seneg · · Score: 4, Insightful

    ...I see is the need for three pancreases for the process - it'd take a lot of donations to cure every Type 1 Diabetic out there. Stiil, they interviewed the guy on the radio, and he seems happy that he's got the flexibility, so its still an improvement (drugs compared to needles - tough choice)

  5. Re:Coca-cola: Toilet bowl cleaner! by blincoln · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Now if pop can do that, imagine what it does inside you! Pepsi works too.

    I'm sure stomach acid would work at least as well as a toilet bowl cleaner. Imagine what *that* does inside of you. Oh, wait.

    --
    "...always new atoms but always doing the same dance, remembering what the dance was yesterday." -Richard Feynman
  6. Re:Good news! by Nipok+Nek · · Score: 4, Informative

    Not true - Type II is where your body isn't correctly using the insulin it has, Type I is where the body simply doesn't make enough. Anyone (including myself) who has ever "progressed" from Type II to Type I was simply mis-diagnosed in the first place, and was always Type I.

    Nipok Nek

    --
    Why choose white shoes?
  7. The Beeb got it wrong... this has been done before by Methionine · · Score: 4, Informative

    Not sure how this has been missed, but unless I'm mistaken, this is *not* the first time we've seen islet cell transplantation to correct Type I diabetes in patients with insulin-dependant diabetes mellitus (IDDM). From http://www.diabetes.org.uk/islets/trans/edmonton.h tm "The 'Edmonton' protocol is a procedure developed in Canada for transplanting healthy islet cells into people with Type 1 diabetes. The series of islet transplantations carried out by James Shapiro and his team since March 1999 has enjoyed levels of success that are unprecedented in the field of islet transplantation surgery. Since the Edmonton transplantation research trial began, 48 patients have undergone 92 islet infusions in Canada. The most recent statistics from Edmonton (January 2003) state that one year after transplantation 84 per cent of patients remain insulin free and that after three years, 89 per cent of patients are still producing insulin. Previous islet cell transplants have only succeeded in around eight per cent of cases. In addition to the work being carried out in Canada, approximately 200 patients have received islet transplants using the 'Edmonton' protocol or varients of the process in several centres worldwide. There are now almost 75 programmes planned to become activated within the next six to 12 months." Also, check this link from the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research: http://www.ahfmr.ab.ca/publications/newsletter/Sum mer00/sum00/inside/diabetes.feat.htm