PHILADELPHIA Type 1 diabetes (T1D) patients who have developed low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) as a complication of insulin treatments over time are able to regain normal internal recognition of the condition after receiving pancreatic islet cell transplantation, according to a new study led by researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, published online in Diabetes. Severe hypoglycemiaa life-threatening complication of insulin treatment for T1Dcan occur when the bodys defense mechanisms against low blood sugar are broken down over a long period of time, causing shakiness, irritability, confusion, lightheadedness, shortness of breath, and even seizures or loss of consciousness. In this study, led by Michael R. Rickels, MD, MS, associate professor of Medicine and medical director of the Pancreatic Islet Cell Transplant Program at Penn Medicine, T1D patients who were suffering from hypoglycemia unawarenesswhen a patient has low blood sugar, but feels no symptomswere able to internally recognize the condition and automatically increase their own blood sugar to normal levels six months after undergoing islet cell transplantation. Pancreatic islets are tiny clusters of cells within the pancreas that contain several types of cells, including cells that produce insulin to help the body process sugar. The results … Continue reading →

Findings demonstrate effective treatment for type 1 diabetes patients with severe hypoglycemia PHILADELPHIA - Type 1 diabetes (T1D) patients who have developed low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) as a complication of insulin treatments over time are able to regain normal internal recognition of the condition after receiving pancreatic islet cell transplantation, according to a new study led by researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, published online in Diabetes. Severe hypoglycemia--a life-threatening complication of insulin treatment for T1D--can occur when the body's defense mechanisms against low blood sugar are broken down over a long period of time, causing shakiness, irritability, confusion, lightheadedness, shortness of breath, and even seizures or loss of consciousness. In this study, led by Michael R. Rickels, MD, MS, associate professor of Medicine and medical director of the Pancreatic Islet Cell Transplant Program at Penn Medicine, T1D patients who were suffering from "hypoglycemia unawareness"--when a patient has low blood sugar, but feels no symptoms--were able to internally recognize the condition and automatically increase their own blood sugar to normal levels six months after undergoing islet cell transplantation. Pancreatic islets are tiny clusters of cells within the pancreas that contain several types of cells, … Continue reading →

Dr. Deborah Anderson from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and her colleagues are challenging dogma about the transmission of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1). Most research has focused on infection by free viral particles, while this group proposes that HIV is also transmitted by infected cells. While inside cells, HIV is protected from antibodies and other antiviral factors, and cell-to-cell virus transmission occurs very efficiently through intercellular synapses. The Journal of Infectious Diseases (JID) has devoted their December supplement to this important and understudied topic. The 10 articles, four from researchers at BUSM, present the case for cell-associated HIV transmission as an important element contributing to the HIV epidemic. Anderson chides fellow researchers for not using cell-associated HIV in their transmission models: "The failure of several recent vaccine and microbicide clinical trials to prevent HIV transmission may be due in part to this oversight." Approximately 75 million people in the world have been infected with HIV-1 since the epidemic started over 30 years ago, mostly through sexual contact and maternal-to-child transmission. A series of vaccine and microbicide clinical trials to prevent HIV transmission have been unsuccessful, and scientists are returning to the drawing board to devise new … Continue reading →