Early attempts at islet cell transplantation to treat diabetes date to the nineteenth century, decades before the discovery of insulin in the 1930s.

The US FDA has approved clinical trials which could eliminate the need for long-term immunosuppression following transplantation according to Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Dr. Eli Lewis

Researchers from 11 medical centers in the United States, Canada, Sweden, and Norway have begun testing new approaches to transplanting clusters of insulin-producing islets in adults with difficult-to-control type 1 diabetes.

The pioneering work led by King’s College London and its partner trust King’s College Hospital, on islet transplantation to treat Type 1 diabetes, has been strengthened by the recent decision from the Department of Health to fund six new islet transplant centres around the country.

A team led by Dr Richard Smith, Consultant Senior Lecturer in Renal Medicine at North Bristol NHS Trust and the University of Bristol, will offer a pioneering new treatment for some patients with Type 1 diabetes, the Department of Health announced today.

According to a new study in Clinical Transplantation, obtaining islet cells (clusters of pancreatic cells that create insulin) from living donors may be a solution to the shortage of islets available for transplantation.

The shortage of islet cells limits the development of islet transplantation. One new approach was reported in the October 21 issue of the World Journal of Gastroenterology because of its great significance in enhancing the output of islet cells. This article will undoubtedly bring benefit to diabetic patients.

Living Cell Technologies Limited (ASX: LCT) today announced it has published evidence outlining the survival and identification of live porcine islet cells and insulin production in a human patient 10 years after receiving a pig islet cell transplant.