Cutting off insulin therapy may be the biggest desire of any diabetes patient. The constant injections, money spent, keeping track of time to know when is the next injection must really have a negative impact in the quality of life.
There is a light at the end of the tunnel, and in the case of diabetes, this comes in the form of a novel technique called BioHub. Such was the case of a 41-year-old man, who has recently become the first European with diabetes type 1 to cut off insulin therapy. He was submitted to a treatment that consisted in transplanting pancreatic islet cells, the cells responsible for producing insulin, using the BioHub technique.
The BioHub is a engineered “organ” that mimics the pancreatic function and was developed by the Diabetes Research Institute (DRI). It’s objective is to protect pancreatic islets from attacks by the immune system.
How does it work?
The therapy consists of using the patient’s own plasma in combination with the enzyme thrombin to create a gel-like substance that sticks to the tissue covering the abdominal organs, also known as omentum, that is able to hold the islet cells in place. The BioHub is a small silicon wafer that contains islet cells. The implanted islets replace the defective islets and create new insulin-producing cells.
This is the second time a type 1 diabetes patient has come off insulin with this therapy. The first was a Texas woman who received the treatment in September 2015.
Type 2 diabetes can be managed with the proper lifestyle change. However, the BioHub means a great deal for type 1 diabetics, who are 100% dependent on insulin therapy to survive.
