Current Status of Islet Encapsulation

Current status of clinical islet transplantation.

Islet transplantation is currently being explored as a treatment for patients with type 1 diabetes. At present, the number of patients becoming insulin-independent is rapidly increasing world-wide applying the transplantation protocol originally described by the group in Edmonton. A hallmark in this procedure is repeated infusions of islets obtained from 2 to 4 donors until normoglycemia is ach...

[Current status of pancreatic islet transplantation].

DM (diabetes mellitus) is a metabolic disorder of either absolute or relative insulin deficiency. Optimized insulin injections remain the mainstay life-sustaining therapy for patients with T1DM (Type I DM) in 2006; however, a small subset of patients with T1DM (approx. 10%) are exquisitely sensitive to insulin and lack counter-regulatory measures, putting them at higher risk of neuroglycopenia....

Current status of clinical islet transplantation

Current Status of Pancreas and Islet Cell Transplantation

Pancreas transplantation has emerged as an effective treatment for patients with diabetes mellitus, especially those with established end-stage renal disease. Surgical and immunosuppressive advances have significantly improved allograft survival. The procedure reduces mortality compared with diabetic kidney transplant recipients and wait listed patients. Improvements in diabetic nephropathy and...

Islet encapsulation: strategies to enhance islet cell functions.

Diabetes is one of the most prevalent, costly, and debilitating diseases in the world. Although traditional insulin therapy has alleviated the short-term effects, long-term complications are ubiquitous and harmful. For these reasons, alternative treatment options are being developed. This review investigates one appealing area: cell replacement using encapsulated islets. Encapsulation materials...