Breakthrough in cure for diabetes

Japanese scientists said on Tuesday they have reversed a patient’s diabetes by conducting the world’s first transplant of pancreat...

Japanese scientists said on Tuesday they have reversed a patient’s diabetes by conducting the world’s first transplant of pancreatic cells from a living donor. The patient, a 27-year-old woman who had suffered from insulin dependent diabetes since she was 15 years old, received the insulin-producing islet cells from her 56-year-old mother in January at Kyoto University.

Until now, islet transplants have come from deceased donors. ‘‘From our successful transplantation of living-donor islets for the treatment of unstable diabetes, our recipient achieved and maintained insulin independence,’’ said Dr Shinichi Matsumoto of Kyoto University Hospital.

‘‘We believe that such transplantation of living-donor islets can be an additional option in the treatment of insulin-dependent diabetes.’’ Matsumoto and his team reported the achievement in a research letter published online by The Lancet medical journal.

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Neither woman suffered any complication and the recipient has not required insulin for two months. ‘‘Until now, islet transplant programmes have used cadaveric donors. In Japan, cultural considerations severely restrict the use of cadaveric donors,’’ said Stephanie Amiel, of King’s College London, in a commentary on the achievement.

A spokesman for the charity Diabetes UK described it as a ‘‘significant breakthrough’’. But he questioned whether it would be a way forward for many people because of the risks involved. ‘‘There is the risk that damage could be done to the donor’s pancreas and leave them at risk of diabetes.’’

Islet transplantation from organs of dead donors wasperfected in 2000. — Reuters

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