EDA Education Corner Newsletter
October 2000
~ Volume 1, Issue 2
WHAT'S ALL THE TALK ABOUT
A DIABETES CURE?
Facts on Islet Cell Transplant
An "islet" is a group of cells
in the pancreas containing beta cells. Beta cells produce insulin. Insulin
acts as a messenger that tells the body cells to allow blood sugar to
enter. The cells in your body use sugar as fuel.
In type I diabetes, the body's
own immune system destroys these islets leaving the body without the capability
to make its own insulin.
Recently in Canada a group
of patients received a transplant of islet cells leaving them free from
insulin therapy at one year.
The transplanted islet cells
came from cadavers - people who have died. To be successful, each transplant
takes the islet cells from the pancreas of two or three cadavers. If the
transplant became widely available tomorrow, there would be a shortage
of donors.
Islet cells are taken from
the pancreas and injected into a vein in the patient's liver. Through
this vein, the islets follow the normal blood flow of the liver and eventually
settle in the smallest blood vessels called capillaries. Here they begin
to make insulin just like they normally would in the pancreas.
Only patients with type
I diabetes will benefit from islet cell transplants. Ask your physician
or nurse practitioner if you are unsure about your type of diabetes.
267 islet cell transplants
have taken place since 1990. The success rate up until now has been poor.
Of the 267 transplants, only about twelve percent remained free from insulin
treatment after one week, and only about eight percent beyond one year.
All eight participants in the new Canadian study have remained off insulin
for one year.
The Canadian study was unique
because it used different medications to prevent the body's immune system
from attacking the transplanted islet cells. These new medications appear
to have better success because they are not toxic to the new islet cells
like previous medications. As with any transplant, the patient must take
medications every day for the rest of his or her life to prevent the immune
system from attacking the foreign cells. This puts the person at greater
risk for infection and possibly cancer because the immune system is suppressed.
Ten research centers in North
America and Europe will attempt to repeat the technique (now known as
the Edmonton Protocol) for transplanting islet cells into the livers of
patients with Type I Diabetes. The study will involve 40 patients.
In addition to many other
criteria, you must be over 18, and have "brittle diabetes" This means
that you are practicing tight control and are in good compliance but still
have problems with widely varying blood glucose ranges. If you have Type
II Diabetes or "non insulin dependent diabetes" you will not qualify for
this study.
It is important to remember
that this is an experimental procedure. It has not been proven to be a
cure for Type I Diabetes. More time and study are needed to determine
the long-term implications of this procedure.
More information
about the trial is available at the Immune
Tolerance Network www.immunetolerance.org
†††
RECIPE OF THE QUARTER
Allan’s Cranberry
Chicken
- 1 cup boiling water
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 2 tsp. canola oil
- 1 & 1/2 lb. skinless,
boneless chicken breasts, halved and pounded to 1/2-inch thickness
- 1 large carrot, peeled
and diagonally sliced
- 1 red pepper, julienned
- 1 yellow pepper, julienned
- 2 scallions, sliced
- 2 tbsp. honey
- 1 tbsp. lemon juice
Heat oil in large
skilled over medium-high heat.
Add the chicken breasts and saute' on each side for a total of 10 minutes.
Remove from the skillet.
Add the carrot
and peppers and saute’ for 5 minutes. Add the scallions and saute'
for 3 more minutes.
Mix together
the honey and lemon juice. Add the cranberries and the juice mixture
to the skillet and cook 1 minute. Add the chicken breasts, cover
and simmer on low for 5 minutes.
Exchanges per
serving:
| very lean meat - 3 |
vegetable - 1 |
carb. - 1/2 |
| fat - 1/2 |
calories - 196 |
total fat - 5 g |
| Sat. fat - 1g |
chol. - 69 mg |
carb. - 12g |
| sodium - 76g |
protein - 26g |
|
This recipe
can be found in the Flavorful Seasons Cookbook, which can be ordered form
the American Diabetes Association by calling
1-800-232-6733 or visiting store.diabetes.org/adabooks
|
