Porcine Islets Offer Promise For Human Diabetic Patients

Source: Emory University Health Sciences Center
Posted: February 27, 2006

Islet cell xenotransplantation presents a promising near-term solution to the critically low islet cell supply for humans suffering from type 1 diabetes, according to researchers from the Emory Transplant Center, the Yerkes National Primate Research Center of Emory University and the University of Alberta, Canada. The Emory/Yerkes researchers successfully transplanted and engrafted insulin-producing neonatal porcine islet cells harvested by the University of Alberta researchers into diabetic rhesus macaque monkeys, restoring the monkeys' glucose control and resulting in sustained insulin independence.