The first successful operation to transplant insulin-making cells, called
islets, from a living donor has allowed a woman to stop using daily insulin
to treat her diabetes, according to a study led by Japanese researchers.
Wow! Good news for the world! A cure for one type of diabetes.. purely amazing. Especially as diabetes is predicted to be an even greater risk for Asians in up and coming developing and developed nations due to our changing diets and less sugar-resistant metabolisms...
Of course, we're not quite there yet. The operation itself is highly experimental; the article mentions that there were two failed attempts before this. And also, it seems to carry possible dangers for the donor as well, that the donor might in turn become diabetic. The transplants are taken from the pancreas, and I guess the islets (of langerhans?) may not regenerate.. Furthermore, it only cures (some) type I diabetes .. I know there's type II, what does that mean?
The American Diabetes Association has this to say about the disease.
There are 18.2 million people in the United States, or 6.3% of the population,
who have diabetes. While an estimated 13 million have been diagnosed with
diabetes, unfortunately, 5.2 million people (or nearly one-third) are unaware
that they have the disease.
Wow.. scary. Worse still, it estimates only about 5-10% of diabetics have this type I diabetes. Most diabetics are type II (with another 200% more people who are pre-diabetic), and it seems from what I'm reading that this is a more lifestyle related condition as compared to type I, which is more to do with genetics..
Anyway, the links are there, read more at your own leisure, and take appropriate lifestyle steps!
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