Three Toronto scientists have developed an organ transplant procedure that could, among its many benefits, reverse diabetes. The procedure was developed by Bernard Leibel, Julio Martin and
Walter Zingg at the University of Toronto and the
Hospital for Sick Children. The story of their work began in 1978, when they delved into research which had never before been tried. They wanted to determine if the success rate of organ transplants would increase if the recipient was injected with minute amounts of organ tissue prior to the transplant. The intention was to adapt the recipient to the transplanted tissue and thereby raise the threshold of rejection. In the case of the diabetes experiment, this meant injecting rats with pancreatic tissue before transplanting islets of
Langerhans, small clusters of cells scattered throughout the pancreas which produce insulin, glucagon, and somatostatin. In their first experiment, outbred Wistar rats were injected with increasing amounts of minced pancreas from unrelated donor rats for one year while a control group was left untreated. Then both the treated and control groups received injections of approximately 500-800 islets of Langerhans from unrelated donors. Of the five treated animals, two became clinically and biochemically permanently normal. Six months later, Martin examined the cured rats and found intact, functioning islets secreting all of their hormones, including insulin.
None of the controls were cured. Encouraged by their first results, Leibel, Martin, and Zingg decided to repeat the experiment with rats with much stronger immune barriers (higher levels of rejection). Seven rats out of nine were cured. "We set up a protocol and worked patiently with small numbers," says Leibel, "but the results are indisputable." In addition to reversing diabetes, there are two other benefits to the pre-treatment procedure, according to the scientists. The first is that the pancreas produces all the other hormones of a normal pancreas, not just insulin. The second benefit is that the transplant recipient doesn't have to take immunosuppressive drugs, which are so toxic for diabetics. At present, diabetics who receive a transplanted pancreas must take such
During the year 1889, two researchers, Joseph Von Mering and Oskar Minkowski, discovered the disease that is known today as diabetes. Diabetes is a disease in which the insulin levels (a hormone produced in unique cells called the islets of Langerhans found in the pancreas) in the bloodstream are irregular and therefore affect the way the body uses sugars, as well as other nutrients. Up until the 1920’s, it was known that being diagnosed with diabetes was a death sentence which usually affected “children and adults under 30.” Those who were diagnosed were usually very hungry and thirsty, which are two of the symptoms associated with diabetes. However, no matter how much they ate, their bodies wouldn’t be able to use the nutrients due to the lack of insulin.
The article, “Pancreas Transplant: A Cure for Diabetes?” written by Eli A. Friedman, M.D., explores the possibility of a cure for type 1 diabetes and the implications involving this experimental procedure. The article discusses current procedures and treatments that are commonly used to control type 1 diabetes and highlights provisional treatments that evolved into pancreatic transplant surgery.
By the 1920s, diabetes was considered a global epidemic, affecting people across the globe. Scientists unanimously agreed that diabetes was “the failure of the pancreas to secrete enough of a certain mysterious substance necessary for the proper utilization of carbohydrates as a body fuel.”2 This had stumped scientists for years, and no sufficient cure or treatment had been found. However, in 1921, Toronto doctor Frederick Banting, assisted by J. Macleod, Charles Best, and Dr. J.B Collip successfully created insulin, which was subsequently tested on dogs with diabetes before experimenting on the first human, Leonard Thompson in
Successful pancreas transplantation can improve the quality of life of people with diabetes, primarily by eliminating the need for exogenous insulin, frequent daily blood glucose measurements and many of the dietary restrictions imposed by the disorder. Pts who undergo pancreas transplantation require immunosuppression to prevent rejection of the graft and potential recurrence of the autoimmune process that might again destroy pancreatic islet cells.
The theory behind transplanting porcine organs into humans is relatively simple. Humans and pigs have such similar physiologies that transplanted organs would behave the same ways in humans as they do in pigs. After the operation, it is just a matter of suppressing the immune system to prevent the organ's rejection. In fact, livers transplanted from pigs are already being used as temporary solutions for many people waiting for human donors.3 Unfortunately, "temporary" is the key word here. Porcine cells have a sugar not found in human cells, which the immune system recognizes and instantly attacks in what is calle...
Pancreatic transplantation is a surgical procedure in which a diseased pancreas is replaced with a healthy one in type 1 diabetic patients enabling the production of insulin, which they can’t produce endogenously. Pancreas transplant is commonly combined with kidney transplant which was proved to reduce the complications of type 1 DM. Pancreatic transplant is the patients’ key for insulin independence, which in turn, leads to a better quality of life with less diabetes complications, it showed successful outcomes of 76% with well functioning Pancreas a year after. The procedure has been known to be quite popular (1), it had been estimated that over 300 people in the UK are on the waiting list for the transplant (1). Ever since the success of the early pancreas transplant, people are looking forward performing that operation to solve their problems with diabetes.
Ethical issues also play a role in the selection of the solutions. Most patients perceive xenotransplantation as an acceptable alternative to transplantation of human organs in life-threatening situations provided the potential benefits outweigh any likely adverse effects on the animals. Xenotransplantation of organs from chimpanzees and baboons has been avoided, because of ethical concerns as chimpanzees are listed as endangered species and the fear of transmission of deadly viruses. Pigs are plentiful, quick to mature, breed well in captivity, have large litters, and have vital organs roughly comparable in size to those of humans. Further there are physiologic similarities between their antibodies to human antibodies, and also since they are already being used in the consumer market, organs have been mainly harvested from pigs. Humans have had prolonged and close contact with pigs, their use for the purpose of xenotransplantation is believed to be less likely to introduce any new infectious agents. Porcine islet cells of Langerhans have been injected into patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus. Porcine skin has been grafted onto burn patients, and pig neuronal cells have been transplanted into patients with Parkinson’s disease and Huntington’s disease.
21 February 2014 Phuong Nguyen 2510 Woodhull Ave Bronx, NY 10469. The Honorable Bill de Blasio, Mayor of New York City City Hall, New York, NY 10007. Dear Mayor Blasio, As society develops, people do not stop seeking access to healthcare services in order to ensure a better quality of life. With largely diverse populations, the Bronx has emerged to be a widely populated community in New York City. As a result, the challenges present in the community are overpopulation, polluted environment, excessive fast food chains, and noise pollution due to various transportations that are a root cause of many healthcare problems.
...a healthy life. While they lived that healthy life, they have to be more responsible than a person without diabetes because anything could happen. Bottom line, society or life before the discovery of insulin was bad for a lot of people who had this sickness. So thanks to insulin life has changed then, now, and later.
Almost everyone knows someone who has diabetes. Studies show that diabetes affects 23.6 million people-7.8 percent of the U.S. population. Being diagnosed with diabetes may cause changes in some people’s lives. You can never just look at a diabetic and understand the things that they go through on a daily basis. A question you may ask yourself is, “What is the life of a diabetic like?”
The health problem I have chosen is Type 2 Diabetes. Research has shown that early detection of symptoms of diabetes is crucial and important as it may prevent further difficulties. It is difficult to always identify if symptoms are linked to Type 2 Diabetes because they are often less taxing on an individual’s day-to-day activities. Symptoms of Type 2 Diabetes include but are not limited to frequent urination, extreme fatigue, blurred vision, numbness in hands or feet, and feeling either very thirsty or hungry (American Diabetes Association, 2014).Risk factors of this health issue include but again, are not limited to, weight (being overweight is a high risk factor), lack of movement during daily activities, family history and genetics, race, and age (Risk Factors of Diabetes, Mayo Clinic, 2014).
Roughly 25 million Americans have diabetes; it is called the “Silent Killer” because almost half of those 25 million have no idea that they even have the disease; it can strike and kill without warning. I am interested in the disease because both my grandfather and my maternal great grandmother had diabetes. However, both of them had late onset diabetes, or Type II. Diabetes Mellitus is the cause of many serious health complications such as stroke, heart disease, renal failure, and blindness, among others. It can destroy the major organs in your body; untreated it can take your life.
According to Krisha McCoy on her article: The history of Diabetes; “In 150 AD, the Greek physician Arateus described what we now call diabetes as "the melting down of flesh and limbs into urine." From then on, physicians began to gain a better understanding about diabetes. Centuries later, people known as "water tasters" diagnosed diabetes by tasting the urine of people suspected to have it. If urine tasted sweet, diabetes was diagnosed. To acknowledge this feature, in 1675 the word "mellitus," meaning honey, was added to the name "diabetes," meaning siphon. It wasn't until the 1800s that scientists developed chemical tests to detect the presence of sugar in the urine”.
The leading cause of death and disability is diabetes in around 18.2 million people and diabetes also affect cats and dogs. So far incurable, there are medications and treatments to cope with diabetes (“Americans For Medical Progress”). Apparently some doctors disagree. According to UK professor Paul Furlong, animals are not human, so they are poor test subjects especially by cellular or metabolic means. It is difficult to create a similar model to people (“Pros and Cons”). Not only is animal testing time consuming, many animals are used and it is expensive, which is not worth it when 9/10 drugs fail clinical studies do not direct to people even though it helped cure an animal
Diabetes mellitus (DM) or simply diabetes, is a chronic health condition in which the body either fails to produce the amount of insulin needed or it responds inadequately to the insulin secreted by the pancreas. The three primary types of diabetes are: Diabetes Type 1 and 2, and during some pregnancies, Gestational diabetes. The cliché for all three types of diabetes is high glucose blood levels or hyperglycemia. The pathophysiology of all types of diabetes mellitus is related to the hormone insulin, which is secreted by the beta cells of the pancreas. This hormone is responsible for maintaining an optimal glucose level in the blood. It allows the body cells to use glucose as a main energy source. Due to abnormal insulin metabolism, in a diabetic person, the body cells and tissues cannot make use of glucose from the blood, resulting in elevated blood glucose level or hyperglycemia. Over time, elevated blood glucose level in the bloodstream can lead to severe complications, such as disorders of the eyes, cardiovascular diseases, kidney damage and nerve destruction. In Type 1 diabetes, the pancreas is not able to produce sufficient amount of insulin as required for the body. The pathophysiology of type 1 diabetes suggests that it’s an autoimmune disease, in which the body’s own immune system generates secretions of substances that attack the beta cells of the pancreas leading to low or no insulin secretion. This is more common in children and young adults before the age of thirty. Type 1 is also referred as Insulin dependent Diabetes Mellitus or Juvenile Diabetes, exogenous insulin is needed for its treatment. In type 2 diabetes mellitus we find insulin resistance with varying degrees of insulin secretory defects and is more comm...