This is a disheartening development:
Vertex has abandoned its cure trial with encapsulated stem cells.
It continues the trial with immunosuppression, Most of us feel that doesn’t withstand risk/benefit analysis vs. continuing to live with T1D.
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I’m surprised this took so long to be published.
I considered a study almost a year ago, and they told me that the encapsulation study was a complete failure, as the cells couldn’t survive without direct blood supply.
So I needed to decide to move forward with partial encapsulation. And immuno suppression required, something I was unwilling to do.
Also they were wanting to install several implants in different places of varying size, and I can’t remember the number but it was a lot maybe 6 or 8?
The kicker was, after 2 years they would remove the implants to study them even if I was insulin independent and they were working.
These are implants that my body would be growing a blood supply to support, thereby needing to cut all that to remove.
Not like a simple implanted sensor or something like that.
So that being the case, I decided against that.
They offered me another study, that was more like the old infused model with the new vertex cells
It entailed a surgical procedure to access the portal vein of my liver, infuse the cells, they stick to my liver and begin to produce insulin.
These types of implants have been done for 20 years and they don’t usually last very long,but a few have been off insulin for 5-10 years.
And they don’t attempt to remove them. So there’s that, but I declined that too.
I’m waiting for something a little less immuno suppressed.
Of course most of these types of study’s limit participants to 65, and I’m 59. I might age out of the possibility before they get to the next breakthrough
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I was interested, but automatically excluded at over 65. Cure research is much diminished.
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I had wondered about encapsulation as to how the cells would have access to blood yet protected from the immune system.
I agree that immunosuppressants is a deal breaker.