Transplants

A new therapy developed at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center improves transplant rates and outcomes for patients awaiting living- and deceased-donor kidney transplantation, according to a study published in the July 17 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

For patients with type 1 diabetes and end-stage renal disease (ESRD), simultaneous kidney-pancreas transplantation increases the chances of long-term survival compared to kidney transplantation alone.

A few weeks ago we had an article by the endocrinologist Irl Hirsch. What many of you may not know is that his brother James, also has diabetes and has written a book about his and other folks experiences with the disease. Leigh Anne Bowen, University of Florida Doctor of …

Embryonic Stem Cells Become Insulin Producing Beta Cells according to the biotechnology company Novocell , and verified by Dr. Camillo Ricordi, Director, Diabetes Research Institute at the University of Miami. Our special reporter Linda Stine, has the inside scoop on this ground breaking work

A new method that uses nanotechnology to rapidly measure minute amounts of insulin is a major step toward developing the ability to assess the health of the body’s insulin-producing cells in real time.

Uncontrolled diabetes wreaks havoc on the body, often leading to kidney failure, blindness and death. A new study shows that the nation’s unchecked diabetes epidemic exacts a heavy financial toll as well: $174 billion a year, a 32 percent increase from 2002.

A research team has discovered that in some individuals, the specialized immunoregulatory T-cells that regulate the body’s autoimmune reactions may lose their effectiveness and become “lazy” over time, leading to the onset of type 1 diabetes.

Transplantation of insulin-producing islet cells from human donors or cadavers, an investigational approach to long-term diabetes treatment, is fraught with difficulties. San Diego-based MicroIslet, Inc. believes that transplantation of encapsulated islets from pigs may be the answer.

New evidence shows that the drug makers Merck and Schering-Plough have conducted several studies of their popular cholesterol medicine Zetia that raise questions about its risks to the liver, but the companies have never published those results.

Exercise boosts the number of progenitor cells in people with heart failure, and those cells in turn repair and rebuild weakened muscle and blood vessels, researchers report.