$5 Million Effort to Study Beta Cell Transplantation

Giving a significant thrust to the war against Diabetes, President Clinton announced a $5 Million effort to study beta cell transplantation. 10 sites will receive funds for the clinical trials aimed at curing type 1 diabetes (also known as juvenile or insulin dependent diabetes) using beta cell transplant. The sites were selected after reports in June this year that 10 diabetes patients who received beta cell transplants at the University of Alberta Edmonton, Canada, no longer had to take insulin injections.

The trails are open to 40 patients aged 18 to 65 years who are unable to control their blood sugar even with strict adherence to insulin regimens. The programme is being run by the Immune Tolerance Network as www.immunetolerance.org

The research centres selected are:

1. University of Alberta
2. University of Miami, FL
3. University of Minnesota , MN
4. Harvard Medical School, Boston , MA
5. Washington University , St. Louis, MO
6. Pacific North Research Institute, Seattle, WA
7. NIH, MD
8. Justis  Liebig University  Gissen, Germany
9. University  of  Milan, Italy
10. University Hospital, Geneva, Switzerland.

A similar effort was noted in experiments with transplanted cells in mice lacking a myelin-producing gene-extensive remyelination of axons surrounding the transplant occurred.

Nerve fibres are left intact but functionless in many spinal cord injuries and MS because of demyelination. Therefore as Dr. Mc Donald said,”Successful remyelination could enhance the quality of life in a quadriplegic or paraplegic by, for example, restoring bladder or bowel function or allowing functional recovery of a limb”. Phase 1i human trials of oligodendrocyte precursors are just getting underway in several centres around the world and hopefully embryonic cell transplantation will be used to treat spinal injuries within the next 5 to 10 years.