title: Is islet transplantation a realistic approach to curing diabetes?
abstract: Since the report of type 1 diabetes reversal in seven consecutive patients by the Edmonton protocol in 2000, pancreatic islet transplantation has been reappraised based on accumulated clinical evidence. Although initially expected to therapeutically target long-term insulin independence, islet transplantation is now indicated for more specific clinical benefits. With the long-awaited report of the first phase 3 clinical trial in 2016, allogeneic islet transplantation is now transitioning from an experimental to a proven therapy for type 1 diabetes with problematic hypoglycemia. Islet autotransplantation has already been therapeutically proven in chronic pancreatitis with severe abdominal pain refractory to conventional treatments, and it holds promise for preventing diabetes after partial pancreatectomy due to benign pancreatic tumors. Based on current evidence, this review focuses on islet transplantation as a realistic approach to treating diabetes.
authors.affiliation: Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Sang-Man
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.affiliation: Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Internal Medicine, Gachon University Gil Medical Center, Incheon, Korea.
authors.forename: Kwang-Won
authors.initials: KW
authors.lastname: Kim
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D017326:Clinical Trials, Phase III as Topic; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000097:blood / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D016381:Islets of Langerhans Transplantation / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods; D010180:Pancreatectomy / Q000009:adverse effects*; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery*; D014182:Transplantation, Autologous; D014184:Transplantation, Homologous; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D001786:Blood Glucose
keywords: Diabetes; Hypoglycemia; Islet; Islets of Langerhans transplantation