We ran an article about this soldier that has his pancrease shot and doctors had to remove it, causing him to become diabetic. They then removed insulin-producing cells and transplanted them into the liver. Check it out here: Doctors ‘Cure’ Wounded Soldier’s Diabetes With Experimental Surgery
I know there are a lot of developments that can lead to false hope for a cure. What do you think of this development?
The cure for T1 isn’t about the insulin-producing cells. It’s about stopping the autoimmune attack on the insulin-producing cells. The soldier had missing insulin-producing cells, so they transplanted them onto his liver and since his autoimmune system works properly, he is cured of diabetes. This won’t work for us.
I suppose it is a cure if you get shot in the stomach, basically destroying your pancreas. In this case, as Don notes, they used his own islet cells and because they are not foreign, he did not require immunosuppressent drugs. That makes a huge difference. With a pancreas or islet transplant you have to take those drugs for the rest of your life and it can leave your immunity compromised.
