June 6, 2000
Insulin injections could become a thing of the past for people with diabetes.
Canadian researchers say they've developed a cell transplant technique that eliminates the need for injections.
Scientists at the University of Alberta injected pancreas cells from cadavers into eight diabetes patients. Those cells began producing the insulin that controls blood sugar levels, and the patients no longer need insulin shots.
They do, however, have to take a combination of three drugs designed to prevent the body from rejecting the transplanted cells.
A larger study is set to begin this summer, and if the results hold up, the researchers think it could mean the end of insulin dependent diabetes.
The news was so startling that the New England Journal of Medicine didn't wait the nearly two months before it could include the information in its publication. Instead, it put the news on its website.
New England Journal of Medicine Online
www.nejm.org
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