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Page 6 The Skanner April 20, 2016 News Study Backs Pancreas Cell Transplants for Severe Diabetes LAURAN NEERGAARD AP Medical Writer WASHINGTON — Transplants of insu- lin-producing pancreas cells are a long hoped-for treatment for diabetes — and a new study shows they can protect the most seriously ill patients from a life-threatening complication of the dis- ease, an important step toward U.S. approval. These transplants are used in some countries but in the U.S. they’re available only through research studies. Armed with Monday’s fi ndings, “ therapy is real and works and off ers tremendous potential for the right pa- tient,” said study lead au- thor Dr. Bernhard Her- ing of the University of Minnesota, whose team plans to seek a Food and Drug Administration li- cense for the therapy. In Type 1 diabetes, the immune system destroys the pancreatic cells re- sponsible for making insulin, a hormone crucial to converting blood sugar into energy. About 1 million Amer- icans have Type 1 dia- betes and depend on regular insulin shots to Cell-based diabetes therapy is real and works and off ers tremendous potential for the right patient researchers hope to li- cense them for use in a small number of people with Type 1 diabetes who are most at risk for drops in blood sugar so severe they can lead to seizures, even death. “Cell-based diabetes survive but still can ex- perience complications due to swings in their blood sugar. Diabetics who get kid- ney transplants some- times also receive pan- creas transplants at the same time, essentially curing their diabetes. But it’s an uncommon and grueling operation, so scientists for years have worked on a mini- mally invasive alterna- tive: Infusing patients with just islet cells, the insulin factories inside the pancreas. The questions: How best to obtain those islet cells from deceased do- nors, and who benefi ts most from transplants? When glucose lev- els drop too low, most people with Type 1 dia- betes experience early warning signs — slurred speech, tremors, sweat- ing, heart palpitations — so they know to eat or drink something for a quick sugar boost. But even with optimal care, about 30 percent even- tually quit experiencing those symptoms, a con- dition called hypoglyce- mia unawareness. They can be in grave danger if their blood sugar plum- mets when no one else is around to help. Contin- uous glucose monitors can counteract that prob- lem, but even those don’t help everyone. Make The Skanner part of your daily routine ...for a better day today and tomorrow. Grab the headlines from your mobile device. Tap to view local events and announcements. Get a quick update or enjoy an in-depth read on your desktop. Receive breaking news, you won’t fi nd anywhere else, in your inbox. Don’t miss anything! Page through the latest print edition online. AP PHOTO/REED SAXON, FILE Minnesota team plans to seek FDA administration license for the therapy, which is closer to approval In this April 29, 2012 fi le photo, a woman diagnosed with diabetes gives herself an injection of insulin at her home in the Los Angeles suburb of Commerce, Calif. Transplants of insulin-producing pancreas cells are a long hoped-for treatment for diabetes, and a new study shows they can protect the most seriously ill patients from a life-threatening complication, an important step toward U.S. approval. The National Institutes of Health targeted that fraction of highest-risk patients, funding a study that gave 48 people at eight medical centers at least one islet cell trans- plant. A year later, 88 percent were free of severe hy- poglycemia events, had their awareness of blood sugar dips restored, and harbored glucose levels in near-normal ranges. Two years later, 71 per- cent of participants still were faring that well, concluded the study pub- lished by the journal Dia- betes Care. The goal wasn’t insulin independence, which re- quires more functioning islet cells than merely restoring blood sugar awareness. But some pa- tients — 52 percent aft er one year — no longer needed insulin shots and others used lower doses. “It’s just an amazing gift ,” said Lisa Bishop of Eagle River, Wisconsin, who received new islet cells in 2010 and no lon- ger needs insulin shots. Bishop recalls the terror of learning she’d become hypoglycemic unaware, and the diffi culty of even holding a job. She hasn’t had hypoglycemia since the transplant and says if her blood sugar occa- sionally dips a bit aft er exercise, “now my body senses it.” Another key: The trans- plants have long been used experimentally but diff erent hospitals use diff erent methods to cull the islet cells from a do- nated pancreas and pu- rify them — and it wasn’t clear which worked best, explained Dr. Nan- cy Bridges, chief of the transplant branch at NIH’s National Institute for Allergy and Infec- tious Diseases. The FDA made clear that there had to be a standard method for islet cell transplants if they were ever to be ap- proved — which is neces- sary for insurance cover- age — so the researchers developed that recipe, Bridges said. Side eff ects include bleeding and infection, and recipients need life- long immune-suppress- ing drugs to avoid reject- ing their new cells. Even if given the OK for more routine use, donated pancreas cells are in lim- ited supply. Still, “it’s a very beau- tiful study,” said Dr. Julia Greenstein of the diabe- tes advocacy organiza- tion JDRF, who wasn’t in- volved in the latest research. “For most peo- ple in the U.S., this was not an available choice, and this is the fi rst step in making that an available choice.” Please re-use or recycle this newspaper.
