Scientists have developed a way to increase the effectiveness of pancreatic islet transplantation, a promising therapy for type 1 diabetes.
New findings could make pancreatic islet cell transplants more effective.
Immune rejection by the recipient is a major barrier to pancreatic islet transplants from donors becoming routinely available for the treatment of type 1 diabetes.
One way to overcome this is to place the islets — groups of insulin-producing cells — inside microcapsules made of a material that is less likely to provoke an immune response.
However, the process of microencapsulation can result in large numbers of empty capsules, which means a high volume of implant to achieve the required result. This increases the risk of immune reaction.
Now, researchers from the University of the Basque Country, in Spain, have developed a magnetic system for purifying the microcapsules that separates out the empty ones.
Read on –> MedicalNewsToday.com
