Reversing Type 1 Diabetes In Primates

Diabetes has been an incurable disorder and a growing global health problem. Recent studies by an Israeli research team at Weizmann Institute of Science helps to enhance the chances of curing type I diabetes, also known as juvenile diabetes. Their research discovered that transplanting pancreatic tissues extracted from pig embryos produce functioning organs in experimental subjects and can effectively cure this dreadful disease.

People suffer from type 1 diabetes when pancreas loses its ability to produce insulin, a hormone which balances the sugar levels in the blood. It becomes necessity for Type 1 diabetes patients to regularly check their blood sugar levels on an average of 4-8 times a day and should include corrective measure of insulin injections based on the outcome of the test. As diabetes is a prolonging disease, one should strictly follow through their lives.

Researchers have been working consistently to find authentic replacement of the human organs because of less availability of donors. Though there has been considerable research mainly on artificial replacements found for weak hearts, livers and spleens, scientists are working on animals, likely pigs, for their research.

The Israeli scientists’ squad headed by Professor Yair Reisner asserted that new pancreatic cells developed by transplanting pancreatic tissues from embryonic pig can be used to replace the damaged cells. One major concern the team faced was to determine the right age of gestational tissues in order to produce optimal embryonic cells.

In the first phase of the experiment two monkeys died shortly after the transplant. The failure was mainly due to infection developed by the treatment to restrain foreign cells entering the body.

The second pair of monkeys could live for a year after the transplant when a moderate dosage of immunosuppressive drug was given. Five months after the transplant, the monkeys developed to grow new pancreatic tissues reproducing the cells without even needing insulin injections. The scientists confirmed that the insulin generated by the monkeys was porcine in nature but the vessels used in bringing this organ is completely the monkey. Prof. Reisner says that this is an important development demonstrating the experimental subject’s immune system never affected the vessels.

However the second pair of monkeys also succumbed due to complications of immunosuppressive drugs. Prof. Reisner said that the scientists are working towards improving the toxic levels.