Impact of pancreas transplantation on type 1 diabetes-related complications.
OBJECTIVE
Type 1 diabetes is a chronic disease that can impact patient survival and quality of life because of acute and chronic complications. Although intensive insulin scheme treatment has been shown to reduce the incidence of diabetes-related complications, only pancreas transplantation has been shown to be able to alter them and in some cases to revert them. In this review, an extensive view of the effect of pancreas transplantation on diabetes-related complication will be described.


RESULTS
This review will focus on patients survival, diabetic nephropathy, neuropathy, cardiovascular event, comparing their incidence in type 1 diabetic patients treated with insulin and in type 1 diabetic patients receiving kidney, kidney-pancreas or pancreas alone graft. The review will focus mostly on the papers published in the last decade, with a particular attention to those on new aspects of graft function analysis like spectroscopy. Moreover, a comparison with islet transplantation procedure will be performed.


CONCLUSIONS
This review will give an update on the potential of pancreas transplantation, give a guide for clinical practice and help to consider pancreas transplantation as an alternative to insulin treatment for selected patients.
Gremizzi
Chiara
C
Transplant Unit, Department of Internal Medicine, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milano, Italy.
Vergani
Andrea
A
Paloschi
Vera
V
Secchi
Antonio
A
D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D048909:Diabetes Complications / Q000097:blood / Q000209:etiology / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery*; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery*; D006085:Graft Survival; D006801:Humans; D007004:Hypoglycemic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D007328:Insulin / Q000627:therapeutic use; D016381:Islets of Langerhans Transplantation; D016030:Kidney Transplantation; D016035:Pancreas Transplantation / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000401:mortality; D018579:Patient Selection; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D001786:Blood Glucose; D007004:Hypoglycemic Agents; D007328:Insulin