Open AccessTechnical aspects of islet preparation and transplantation
Author(s) -
Lakey Jonathan R.T.,
Burridge Philip W.,
Shapiro A.M. James
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
transplant international
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.998
H-Index - 82
eISSN - 1432-2277
pISSN - 0934-0874
DOI - 10.1111/j.1432-2277.2003.tb00361.x
Subject(s) - islet , medicine , transplantation , islet cell transplantation , diabetes mellitus , intensive care medicine , pancreas transplantation , milestone , endocrinology , kidney transplantation , archaeology , history
The introduction of insulin therapy for the management of diabetes mellitus is arguably the greatest milestone in the history of modern medicine. β‐cell replacement therapy is the only treatment that reestablishes and maintains long‐term physiological normoglycemia. Until recently, successful clinical outcomes of pancreas transplantation for patients with long‐standing diabetes were much superior to that of islet transplantation. Significant advances in islet isolation and purification technology, the development of more specific and less diabetogenic immunosuppressants and the prophylactic administration of antiviral agents have rekindled a worldwide interest in islet transplantation. This chapter will review the rationale of islet transplantation and the development of islet isolation and purification. The challenges facing clinical islet transplantation in the twenty‐first century will also be introduced.