Early Treatment of Diabetes with Porcine Islets in a Bioartificial Pancreas

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Abstract
Successful pancreas transplantation is an effective therapy for insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) but subjects patients to morbidity and mortality associated with chronic immunosuppression. Bioartificial pancreas devices containing pancreatic islets provide glycemic control without immunosuppression by physically separating the islet grafts from immune lymphocytes and immunoglobulins. Because immunosuppression is not required, the bioartificial pancreas may offer early treatment of IDDM prior to the development of debilitating diabetic complications. Use of xenogeneic islets (i.e., porcine islets) in the device also provides a solution to the limited availability of human donor organs. This report provides a brief summary of our experience with vascularized bioartificial pancreas devices containing xenogeneic porcine islets used for treatment of experimental diabetes in dogs and describes our plans for a clinical phase I/II trial of the vascularized bioartificial pancreas in patients with IDDM.