TOLERANCE INDUCTION TO PORCINE ISLET XENOGRAFTS

Abstract

The current treatment for diabetes involves diet, drugs and insulin treatment. While these are satisfactory for some adult onset diabetes, it is clear that in juvenile diabetes, the disease can progress in the presence of careful insulin dosage. It is apparent that the whole islet as a functional unit is likely to give the best control of diabetes, as when patients are transplanted with whole or segments of pancreas from human donors, as not only is there an improvement in their diabetic status, the vessel lesions improve. Transplantation therefore offers a new therapy to diabetic patients for reversal of their disease and improvement in the serious side affects found in the eye, kidney and ..