ISLET CELL AUTOTRANSPLANTATION

Researches at the University of Leicester in England, conducted a study to throw some light on the effect of islet auto transplantation (IAT) in patients with end-stage chronic pancreatitis, who underwent total pancreas removal. The results of the study appeared in the Annals of Surgery 2001 (233:431-432). The study comprised of 24 IAT patients and 13 similar controls who did not undergo IAT, one death occurred in each group within 30 days of pancreatic resection. Two late deaths occurred in the IAT group, compared with one late death in the control group of significance was the fact that the IAT patients required much less insulin than the controls, giving a “thumbs-up” for islet auto transplantation. However, it needs to be borne in mind that only 3 IAT patients actually achieved lasting insulin independence.