Three-quarters of people who undergo islet transplantation for type 1 diabetes have sustained graft survival with associated improvements in glucose control, insulin requirements, and hypoglycemia incidence 10 years later, research shows.

The first randomized trial of islet transplantation supports its use in patients with severe, unstable type 1 diabetes.

Researchers have shown that donor islet cells can be transplanted to the omentum of type 1 diabetes patients, avoiding the transplant-tissue volume restrictions and risks for bleeding and blood-mediated inflammatory responses associated with hepatic transplantation.

Lablanche S et al. Lancet Diabetes Endocrinol 2018. doi: 10.1016/S2213-8587(18)30078-0

The function of an islet cell graft 28 days after the last infusion predicts 5-year outcomes, show data from the Collaborative Islet Transplant Registry.

Early results suggest that transplantation of fully differentiated stem cell-derived islet cells is a promising approach for achieving glycemic control in people with unstable type 1 diabetes.

Higher BETA-2 scores and the use of anakinra in combination with etanercept are associated with sustained graft survival among people with type 1 diabetes who undergo allogeneic islet transplantation, Canadian research shows.

Based on the findings, the study collaborators conclude: “AID should be considered a potentially effective treatment line in the strategy of care for people with [type 1 diabetes] at high risk for hypoglycemia, prior to considering islet or pancreas transplantation.” medwireNews is an independent medical news service provided by Springer Healthcare Ltd. © 2023 Springer Healthcare Ltd, part of the Springer Nature Group Diabetes Care 2023; doi:10.2337/dc23-0685

An additional notable in-progress study is the intervention part of the Fr1da population screening study , in which children with islet autoantibodies will receive oral insulin at 7.5 or 67.5 mg/day or placebo.

A closed-loop insulin delivery system may offer significantly better glycemic control than an open-loop system with predictive low glucose suspend in islet transplant candidates with highly unstable type 1 diabetes, research shows.

A selection of topical peer-reviewed articles from the Adis journals, curated by the editors.

Choosing simultaneous pancreas–kidney transplantation as the preferred treatment strategy for patients with type 1 diabetes and end-stage renal disease could nearly halve the risk for death 10 years later compared with kidney transplantation alone, research suggests.

Before transplantation, MACE rates were similar for both age groups, at 33% and 29% for the older and younger patients, respectively, but the corresponding rates after transplantation were 31% versus 20%, and the older group had a significantly lower MACE-free survival at 1, 5, and 10 years than the younger group, at 92.9% versus 96.5%, 70.3% versus 91.1%, and 70.3% versus 78.0%.