Posted by Sharyn on June 03, 1999 at 04:01:39:
In Reply to: NBC Nightly News, June 1, 1999 posted by bob doggett on June 02, 1999 at 13:55:53:
Dear B.D.:
Sorry about the format, below is a copy of the news of the report you are referring to.
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There's more interesting news with the cornea transplant
of the eye that was in the news also. Pls. see _AT_
a website "abcnews"...or go to www.ivanhoe.com and
chose from your local listings...{at bottom of page...}
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New research could lead to
cure for juvenile diabetes
June 1, 1999
Web posted at: 11:46 p.m. EDT (0346
GMT)
From Medical Correspondent
Rhonda Rowland
MIAMI (CNN) -- Researchers at
the University of Miami successfully
transplanted insulin-producing cells
to six monkeys with diabetes,
bringing them one step closer to a
possible cure for humans.
The cell transplants, taken from a donor reas, enabled the monkeys to stay off insulin shots for a year or more, the scientists said Tuesday.
As part of the study, researchers tested a new drug known as anti-CD154, which appears to protect the insulin-producing cells, known as islet cells, from
rejection.
"We've found a novel drug that may be a key part to actually be able to do islet cell transplants without the need for long-term use of anti-rejection drugs," said Dr. Norma Kenyon of the Diabetes Research Institute at the
University of Miami.
The findings will soon be published in the medical journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
"It's too early to say if our research will lead to a cure, and we don't want to raise false hopes," said Kenyon. "But it could be part of an eventual cure."
Type 1 diabetes, also known as insulin-dependent and juvenile diabetes, is the
most severe form of the disease and can lead to complications affecting
almost every part of the body. Most patients develop it during childhood.
Anti-rejection drugs often harmful
Researchers have been searching for ways to carry out islet cell transplants
without the need for long-term anti-rejection drugs.
"We don't want patients to trade insulin for these toxic drugs," said Dr. Hugh
Auchincloss, director of the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation Center for Islet
Cell Transplantation at Harvard Medical School.
"More than 300 islet cell transplants have been done in the last decade, but
only a handful of patients have been able to stay off of insulin for a significant
amount of time," he added.
While Auchincloss is excited about the new research, he pointed out that a
number of questions need to be answered.
"For instance, can the islet cells survive long-term once the monkeys are
taken off the new drug?" he asked.
Since diabetes in monkeys is not the same as Type 1 diabetes in humans,
medical experts are not sure how well anti-CD154 will work on humans.
Researchers at the University of Miami hope to soon test the new drug on
humans with insulin-dependent diabetes.