University of Alberta study shows positive signs to get patients with diabetes off injected insulin
Global News
A recent first-in-humans clinical trial is reporting early signs that insulin-producing cells grown from a patient's own blood are safe for transplant.
Researchers at the University of Alberta say they have reached a milestone in the efforts to get people with diabetes off injected insulin for good.
A recent first-in-humans clinical trial is reporting early signs that insulin-producing cells grown from a patient’s own blood are safe for transplant, and in some cases, they begin to produce insulin.
The trial saw 17 adults with diabetes at six centres in Canada, the United States and Europe receive implants of pancreatic cells grown from their own blood.
Each patient received implants of several small permeable devices filled with millions of cells each. The cells were taken from the patients’ own blood, then chemically transformed into stem cells programmed to become islet cells.
Of the 17 patients who received implants, U of A researchers said 35 per cent showed signs in their blood of insulin production after meals within six months of the implant. On top of that, 63 per cent had evidence of insulin production inside the implant devices when they were removed after a year.
“This is a very positive finding,” said James Shapiro, professor of surgery, medicine and surgical oncology in the University of Alberta’s Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry.
“It’s not the endgame, but it’s a big milestone along the road to success, demonstrating that stem cell-derived islet therapies are safe and can begin to show some signal of efficacy in patients in the clinic.”
Shapiro also led the team that developed the Edmonton Protocol in the 1990s, which developed a way to transplant donated islet cells, reducing their need for insulin. However, the U of A says patients continue to need anti-rejection drugs — which can have side effects such as an increased risk of cancer and kidney damage. The number of donated islet cells is also limited.
