Pig Cells to Cure Diabetes?

Reported September 17, 2007

ORLANDO, Fla. (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- You may soon love pigs for more than bacon. Islet cells from pigs may hold the key to curing diabetes.

A recent study revealed the transplantation of insulin-producing islet cells from pigs reversed diabetes in monkeys, giving researchers hope the results will also hold true for humans.
 

"Our success in monkeys suggests it is feasible to use pig islet cells in the not-too-distant future to reverse diabetes in people," Bernhard Hering, M.D., scientific director of the Diabetes Institute for Immunology and Transplantation at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, told Ivanhoe. "While research focused on improving the safety of immunosuppression needed to prevent pig islet transplant rejection continues, the Spring Point Project raises suitable pigs meeting all safety requirements with the eventual goal of bringing this treatment to people."

Researchers report this procedure has a number of advantages, including:
• Pigs will be able to provide unlimited islet tissue in a few years
• Pig islets from young, disease-free donors are superior to cadaver human islets
• The actual risk of infectious disease transmission is lower with transplantation of islets

Dr. Hering and his team will next begin clinical trials of the technique, slated to begin within three years. Researchers say the pigs used for the trials come from a facility staffed with veterinarians and animal care experts to produce the healthiest pigs possible.
 

SOURCE: Ivanhoe interview with Bernhard Hering, M.D.; to be presented at the Diabetes Research and Wellness Foundation Symposium in Minneapolis, Minn., September 20, 2007