Is an Artificial Pancreas on the Horizon for Type 1s?
Transplant experts at the Section of Transplantation in the University of Chicago Department of Surgery say that an artificial pancreas has promising potential as an approach to preventing or reversing complications associated with diabetes. “Bioartificial pancreatic constructs are based on encapsulation of islet cells with a semipermeable membrane so that cells can be protected from the host’s immune system,” they write. “Encapsulation of islet cells eliminates the requirement of immunosuppressive drugs and offers a possible solution to the shortage of donors, as it may allow the use of animal islets or insulin-producing cells engineered from stem cells. The researchers add that during the past two decades, several approaches have been taken to protect transplanted islets.
