Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Study Finds 'Tremendous Potential' Of Pancreas Cell Transplants For Patients With Severe Diabetes
The Associated Press: Study Backs Pancreas Cell Transplants For Severe Diabetes
Transplants of insulin-producing pancreas cells are a long hoped-for treatment for diabetes — and a new study shows they can protect the most seriously ill patients from a life-threatening complication of the disease, an important step toward U.S. approval. These transplants are used in some countries but in the U.S. they're available only through research studies. Armed with Monday's findings, researchers hope to license them for use in a small number of people with Type 1 diabetes who are most at risk for drops in blood sugar so severe they can lead to seizures, even death. (4/19)
Meanwhile, new research hints that a change in diet may help reverse diabetes —
The New York Times: Hope For Reversing Type 2 Diabetes
Many experts believe Type 2 diabetes is an incurable disease that gets worse with time. But new research raises the tantalizing possibility that drastic changes in diet may reverse the disease in some people. Recently, a small clinical trial in England studied the effects of a strict liquid diet on 30 people who had lived with Type 2 diabetes for up to 23 years. Nearly half of those studied had a remission that lasted six months after the diet was over. While the study was small, the finding offers hope to millions who have been told they must live with the intractable disease. (Rabin, 4/18)
