A third of patients with type 1 diabetes will eventually need a new kidney
Injecting special cells from a donor’s pancreas into the patient’s liver can help
A study found that implanting pancreatic cells from a donor into the liver of patients with type 1 diabetes may help them live longer.
A surgical trial led by French scientists has shown promising results for type 1 diabetics undergoing kidney transplants.
About a third of type 1 diabetics will need a new kidney at some point because the high blood sugar caused by the disease damages the blood vessels in the organs. And many patients who receive transplants experience kidney failure again within a few years.
However, data shows that an innovative procedure – islet transplantation – can extend the lifespan of patients without further complications after a kidney transplant.
A third of type 1 diabetes patients will ultimately require a kidney transplant due to the damage caused by the disease
A new technique that involves injecting special cells from a donor’s pancreas into the liver of a kidney transplant patient may extend the lifespan of the new organ
In this technique, special cells called islet cells are removed from a donor’s pancreas.
These cells produce insulin, the hormone that keeps blood sugar stable.
The pancreas is a leaf-shaped gland located near the liver. For reasons that are not yet fully understood, the immune system in type 1 diabetics attacks the gland, causing it to fail.
In the procedure, the islet cells are transferred via a catheter into the diabetic patient’s liver at the same time as the kidney transplant. The site chosen is the liver because it has a unique property called immune privilege – it is less likely to mount an immune response when foreign tissue or cells are transplanted into it compared to other organs.
The new study, presented today at the European Society for Organ Transplantation Congress, looked at 330 patients who had undergone a kidney transplant.
They found that patients who received an islet transplant had a more than 50 percent lower risk of developing kidney failure and lived an average of one year longer compared to those who received no treatment.
The University of Lille researchers also found that islet transplant patients are 70 percent less likely to need regular insulin to control their blood sugar.
Despite 400,000 Brits suffering from type 1 diabetes, NHS figures show only 40 islet transplants are carried out each year.
The nephrologist and author of the study Dr. Mehdi Maanaoui said: “We hope that our results will help improve access to islet transplantation.”
