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09/03/2005
Breakthrough transplant for diabetes sufferers
A 61-year-old man has become the first person to be cured of type 1 diabetes in the UK, courtesy of revolutionary cell transplantation.
Richard Lane now no longer needs insulin injections, after he received three transplants of islet cells, taken from the pancreases of deceased donors.
A team at King's College Hospital carried out the procedure and they have said that it will have "major implications" for sufferers of type 1 diabetes.
Previously, islet transplants had only been partially successful – they reduced the amount of insulin required, but patients still needed to take regular injections. However, a programme in Canada reported the first cases of complete insulin independence and the King's College team is the first to report a comparable result for the UK.
The procedure, which takes around 45 minutes and is minimally invasive, involves the transplant of islet cells into the patients' liver via injection. Once the cells are in the liver, they develop their own blood supply and begin producing insulin.
Mr Lane had suffered from type 1 diabetes for over 30 years. Prior to the transplants he had endured severe, potentially fatal, hypoglycaemic attacks, caused by low blood sugar levels. However, following the transplant he has been able to produce his own insulin and has not suffered any such attacks.
The King's College team, a collaboration between the College's Department of Diabetes and the Liver Unit's transplantation team, have transplanted three patients with type 1 diabetes with pancreatic islet cells. However, the first two cases were only partially successful, with patients still needing small doses of insulin.
Type 1 diabetes often begins in children and, once present, is incurable. It is caused by the cells in the pancreas that produce insulin being destroyed. Around 250,000 people in the UK suffer from the condition, which can lead to complications including blindness, renal failure, amputation and cardiovascular disease.
Professor Stephanie Amiel, Consultant in Diabetes at King's College Hospital, said: “This breakthough is hugely exciting. The implications for the future are enormous. Eventually, this could mean the end of insulin dependence for all Type 1 diabetes sufferers."
However Professor Amiel said there were not enough organ donors and also stressed that more research was needed in order to perfect the procedure.
(KMcA/SP)
Richard Lane now no longer needs insulin injections, after he received three transplants of islet cells, taken from the pancreases of deceased donors.
A team at King's College Hospital carried out the procedure and they have said that it will have "major implications" for sufferers of type 1 diabetes.
Previously, islet transplants had only been partially successful – they reduced the amount of insulin required, but patients still needed to take regular injections. However, a programme in Canada reported the first cases of complete insulin independence and the King's College team is the first to report a comparable result for the UK.
The procedure, which takes around 45 minutes and is minimally invasive, involves the transplant of islet cells into the patients' liver via injection. Once the cells are in the liver, they develop their own blood supply and begin producing insulin.
Mr Lane had suffered from type 1 diabetes for over 30 years. Prior to the transplants he had endured severe, potentially fatal, hypoglycaemic attacks, caused by low blood sugar levels. However, following the transplant he has been able to produce his own insulin and has not suffered any such attacks.
The King's College team, a collaboration between the College's Department of Diabetes and the Liver Unit's transplantation team, have transplanted three patients with type 1 diabetes with pancreatic islet cells. However, the first two cases were only partially successful, with patients still needing small doses of insulin.
Type 1 diabetes often begins in children and, once present, is incurable. It is caused by the cells in the pancreas that produce insulin being destroyed. Around 250,000 people in the UK suffer from the condition, which can lead to complications including blindness, renal failure, amputation and cardiovascular disease.
Professor Stephanie Amiel, Consultant in Diabetes at King's College Hospital, said: “This breakthough is hugely exciting. The implications for the future are enormous. Eventually, this could mean the end of insulin dependence for all Type 1 diabetes sufferers."
However Professor Amiel said there were not enough organ donors and also stressed that more research was needed in order to perfect the procedure.
(KMcA/SP)
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17 December 2010
NHS Wasting Millions On Expensive Insulin
A drive by the drug industry to promote new, more expensive type of insulins (known as analogue insulins) for people with type 2 diabetes is estimated to have cost the NHS at least £250m extra over the past five years. Yet for most people with type 2 diabetes, the extra cost does not correspond to the equivalent extra benefit.
NHS Wasting Millions On Expensive Insulin
A drive by the drug industry to promote new, more expensive type of insulins (known as analogue insulins) for people with type 2 diabetes is estimated to have cost the NHS at least £250m extra over the past five years. Yet for most people with type 2 diabetes, the extra cost does not correspond to the equivalent extra benefit.
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