"For Hard-To-Manage Type 1 Diabetes, Transplant Makes Life Better" — Serena Gordon
New research shows that for people with type 1 diabetes who can no longer sense when their blood sugar levels drop too low, an islet cell transplant can dramatically improve their lives. Some people with type 1 diabetes develop a condition called hypoglycemia unawareness, which means they no longer feel symptoms when their blood sugar levels are dropping dangerously. This can lead to severe low blood sugar levels (hypoglycemia), which can cause seizures and coma. Because the impact on their lives is so significant, people who repeatedly experience these severe hypoglycemic episodes are eligible for islet cell transplants. Andrew Stewart, MD, director of the diabetes, obesity and metabolism institute at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai reviewed the findings. “This is an interesting study that shows that these considerable and very realistic worries and fears are lessened over the course of the first year following pancreatic islet transplantation,” he said. “In addition, it underscores the point that it is not necessary to become insulin-free to achieve these quality-of-life improvements.”
- Andrew Stewart, MD, Director of the Diabetes, Obesity, and Metabolism Institute at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Additional coverage:
WebMD
U.S. News & World Report
WSMV
Channel 8 Eyewitness News
Family Doctor
Drugs.com
