Pancreas transplants + can diabetes complications be reversed? |
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Pancreas transplants are a successful treatment for option for people with type 1 diabetes particularly those with kidney failure or life-threatening severe hypoglycemia.
A problem with transplantation, though, is that it is not possible to predict when surgery is likely to fail. This is why Dr. Matthew Simmonds, a scientist at the University of Lincoln, is collating the largest ever collection of DNA from pancreas transplant donors and recipients.
Simmonds wants to explore how genetics affects transplantation in type 1 diabetes, and hopes his research will make it possible to predict how successful individual grafts will be in future pancreas transplants.
This week, we also reported on the death of Alfred E. Mann a foremost diabetes innovator. Mann was a pioneer in the launch of insulin pumps and set up the company MannKind to develop Afrezza, an inhaled insulin.
Meanwhile, a cellular program that causes aging, known as senescence could increase the production of insulin. Researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem believe the findings could have important implications for how scientists think about beta cell function and dysfunction in diabetes.
In a special In-Depth feature, type 1 diabetic Dr. Ian Lake investigated if diabetic complications can be reversed. There are reports that suggest diabetes complications are reversible, but is this really the case?
As mentioned on Tuesday, the (free) Hypo Training Program reached 54,000 members this week. After taking the program 88% of people know how to spot a hypo, 89% of people know how to treat a hypo and after 6 months people experience 63% fewer severe hypos. |
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