Seaweed product might end need for insulin shots
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Seaweed product might end need for insulin shots
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Mar 20 (HealthCentersOnline) - A capsule made from seaweed may bring
an end to daily insulin injections for people with type 1 diabetes.
Type 1 diabetes is a condition in which the body mistakenly destroys
the insulin-producing beta cells of the pancreas. Insulin is a hormone
needed to process glucose (blood sugar) for energy. To survive, people
with type 1 diabetes must take insulin several times a day by syringe
injections, insulin pumps or other methods.
A recent option for some patients is the surgical transplantation of
an entire donor pancreas or an islet cell transplants, in which beta
cells are typically injected into a vein and establish themselves in
the liver. Some islet cell recipients have been insulin-independent
for years, but others have needed additional infusions or still need
to inject some insulin. A complication of transplants has been the
need to prevent rejection by taking powerful immune-suppressing drugs,
which raise the risk of infections and cancer.
Australian researchers at the University of New South Wales are hoping
to improve the success of islet transplants, and bypass the need for
immunosuppressive drugs, by encasing the insulin-making cells before
transplant in capsules made from alginate, a product made from
seaweed. Pores in the capsules are large enough to let the insulin
leave and nutrients enter but small enough to keep out antibodies that
attack foreign substances. The technique is being tried on six
volunteers with type 1 diabetes.
"This simple treatment could be the end of daily insulin injections,"
said lead researcher Bernie Tuch, director of the Diabetes Transplant
Unit at the Prince of Wales Hospital.
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Publish Date: March 20, 2006
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