Islet transplantation does not involve any sugery, rather a catheter is inserted into the portal vein and the beta cells are infused with something akin to an IV drip. However, the islets take up residence in the liver, not the pancreas, and some have questioned whether this location is the best place for the transplanted cells to take up residence.
The bigger issue involves the immunosuppression, however, patients who have had islet transplants agree almost universally that the drugs they take for immunospression are no more dangerous than continuing to replace insulin from exogenous sources. It is, in principle, virtually impossible to know for certain how much insulin is needed to 'cover' a particular meal in order to achieve a reasonable blood glucose level within an hour or two after eating. Non-diabetics' beta cells routinely and automatically manage this by continual glucose level monitoring and insulin release. All such decisions by a diabetic patient must be based on experience and training (i.e., at the direction of a physician, or CDE) and based on the individual experience of the patient. But patients cannot even measure the presence of other hormones which impact the amount of insulin necessary, so to some extent, it is always some degree educated guesswork. For that reason, some islet transplant patients have said that they would rather take their chances with an increased risk for cancer over slipping into hypoglycemia without warning anytime.
Something to think about ...
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Originally Posted by Thumperfive I'm always suspicious of even a "minor" surgical procedure - any surgery is risky and should be undertaken carefully...
I haven't heard much more on this but who knows? Maybe the focus will shift now that the stem cell research is stalled for a bit.... best to explore all avenues and not put all your eggs in one basket, so to speak! |