http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200503/s1320016.htm
What a great breakthrough!
bebu
Cell transplant cures diabetes
British doctors have announced they have cured a man with diabetes by injecting pancreatic cells into his liver.
The 61-year-old man had Type 1 diabetes, the most extreme form, for 30 years.
In the operation, islet cells - which produce insulin - were harvested from the pancreas of an organ donor and injected into the patient.
Professor Stephanie Amiel, a consultant in diabetes at King's College Hospital, London, where the breakthrough treatment was carried out, said the achievement was "hugely exciting".
"The implications for the future are enormous. Eventually this could mean the end of insulin dependence for all Type 1 diabetes sufferers," Dr Amiel said.
The transplant requires a simple, minimally invasive procedure that takes only about 45 minutes. Once there, the cells develop their own blood supply and start producing insulin.
- Reuters