[fahre001]

Hi Everyone!
My first time here. Just wanted to drop a line and let you know about our campaign to cure diabetes using islet xenotransplantation.

Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease that results in the permanent destruction of insulin producing beta cells of the pancreas. Current management involves daily blood sugar testing, insulin injections, and careful meal planning. But insulin only controls Diabetes-it doesn’t cure it. Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus continues to be a therapeutic challenge and burden to patients, their families, and society (more than 1 million U.S. citizens are affected). Hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) and hyperglycemia (high blood sugar levels) result in acute and chronic complications, disability, pain, fears, worries, and discrimination. More than 50% of patients experience some chronic complication, which can lead to such devastating conditions as kidney failure and diabetic retinopathy.

Although pancreas transplantation has shown great promise for treating Diabetes, a limited donor supply (from cadavers) will never meet the demand. Fortunately, investigators at the Diabetes Institute for Immunology and Transplantation at the University of Minnesota have been able to achieve long-term diabetes reversal (>180 days) in diabetic monkeys after porcine islet xenotransplantation. Similar results have been observed by researchers at the Emory University School of Medicine.

This wouldn’t be the first time that pigs have come to the rescue for Diabetes. Until a human insulin drug was made (in 1978 by Genentech), Diabetes patients routinely injected pig insulin. The promise for this therapy is so great that clinical trials of pig-to-human islet xenotransplantation began last year in Russia, and they will soon start in the United States. Procedures for improving the tolerance of patients to pig cells are currently under development around the world. We believe that the prevention of zoonotic transmission of pathogens from donor pigs to patients is crucial for clinical application of porcine xenotransplantation. Although husbandry in a biosecure environment can eliminate most risk, endogenous agents such as porcine endogenous retroviruses (PERV) require special attention. Indeed, upon co-cultivation of pig and human cells, PERV inefficiently traverses the species barrier. Although no evidence of pig to human transfer has ever been observed in vivo, it is prudent to develop pigs with a reduced genetic potential for PERV transmission.

Jónsson et al showed that porcine endogenous retrovirus (PERV) transmission from pig to human cells in long-term co-culture experiments is reduced to nearly undetectable levels by expressing human APOBEC3G in pig cells. This constitutes a compelling proof-of-principle demonstration that APOBEC3 proteins can be used to fortify the innate anti-viral defenses of cells to prevent the zoonotic transmission of an endogenous retrovirus. Engineered pigs that specifically rescue or eliminate potential zoonosis will answer public concerns about safety and PERVless pigs will become the standard resource for xenotransplantation.

We propose to develop pigs that are transgenic for the human APOBEC3G gene using technology developed by the Fahrenkrug lab at the University of Minnesota. Engineered pigs developed from this project will be provided to University of Minnesota clinicians as they move islet xenotransplantation to clinical trials.

[viranth]

I just head on a podcast from another scientist that the percentage of people getting complications are "only" 30%, not 50% as you say.

And that that number is dropping due to better care.

[mortis505]

Why use Porcine when you could get human.

The Clinical Islet Transplantation (CIT) Consortium

National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse

The Chicago Project

And your numbers need updating,

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the American Diabetes Association and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International, 20.8 million people in the US (7% of the population) have diabetes.

Total: 20.8 million children and adults -- 7.0% of the population -- have diabetes.

Diagnosed: 14.6 million people

Undiagnosed: 6.2 million people

Pre-diabetes: 54 million people

1.5 million new cases of diabetes were diagnosed in people aged 20 years or older in 2005.

Type 1 diabetes accounts for 5% to 10% of all diagnosed cases of diabetes. Risk factors for type 1 diabetes may be autoimmune, genetic, or environmental. There is no known way to prevent type 1 diabetes. Several clinical trials of methods of the prevention of type 1 diabetes are currently in progress or are being planned.

[xMenace]

Welcome.

Got a timeframe?

Been stuck on this deserted island for 32.5 years. I've seen many ships and planes pass by, but so far no one has stopped to get me off.

[kstreeter513]

Originally Posted by mortis505

Why use Porcine when you could get human.

Because we cannot breed humans and kill them for their islets cells like we can for pigs. Plus the bacon from humans after harvesting just doesn't taste as good as a pigs.

[Tattoo azz]

At least you'll all have a good meal when your research turns out to be a waste of time..!!! Concentrate on PREVENTION that's where the next breakthroughs will be.

[archimeech]

Originally Posted by mortis505

Why use Porcine when you could get human.

Human donors would not even begin to scratch the surface of the needed amount of Islet cells. Growing them from T-cells or in some other fashion is still not a possiblility.

There is nothing wrong with Porcine Cell Transplants. I've been following the debate for years and besides the mass hysteria that they cause the Nay-Sayers can't show any technical proof that there is anything unsafe about Porcine Xeno with encapsulation. No where in your article do you mention anything about encapsulation. there for I can only assume that you are interested in putting more people on horribly debilitating Anti-rejection drugs. These drugs are a fate worse than what we have now. I'm not for anything being put into my body that forces me to kill what little immune system is left to me after having had diabetes for the last 24 years.

Let's save the human donor cells for those of the Jewish and Islamic faith with diabetes that would be willing to have another's organs inside them and let the rest of us benefit from this new technology. both being encapsulated in an alginate cover will protect the islaets from our immune system and us from any possible secondary problems from anti rejection drugs. This way we can all be saved and the very few human donor cells that we do have can go to those who have a religious problem with using anything from a pig...
M_

[ant hill]

Originally Posted by xMenace

Welcome.

Got a timeframe?

Been stuck on this deserted island for 32.5 years. I've seen many ships and planes pass by, but so far no one has stopped to get me off.

Ahemm, Feel like a rock in a hard place.

Originally Posted by kstreeter513

Because we cannot breed humans and kill them for their islets cells like we can for pigs. Plus the bacon from humans after harvesting just doesn't taste as good as a pigs.

LOL I just hope that after the pig's islets that's gets to our bodys don't get us that fat as the pig's are. Or we get the dead from afganistan as they are human.