Islets Could Be a Key to Diabetes Cure

Nov. 14, 2007— -- At 43, she is trim, fit and energetic. She camps, hikes and runs marathons on Maui, where she lives and is a nurse. But she was here at the University of Minnesota Medical Center last month to receive an infusion of cells taken from the pancreas of a deceased donor.

The experimental procedure, which has been tried in about 1,000 patients worldwide, aims to restore Rohde's ability to produce insulin.

In recent years, scientific understanding of diabetes has expanded markedly. Studies have shown keeping blood sugar levels as close to normal as possible can help prevent or delay many of the complications of the disease.

At the same time, scientists have been working on ways to go beyond just treating the disease, all the way to prevention and a cure.

"We've had a tremendous amount of progress in diabetes in recent years," says Jay Skyler of the Diabetes Research Institute at the University of Miami.

And more is coming.

"We're at a stage now where we can sense that we can lick this thing," he says. "We're going to get there."

Type 1 diabetes is caused by the immune system's destruction of insulin-producing cells in the pancreas, known as beta cells. It affects about 10 percent of the nearly 21 million Americans with diabetes. About 90 percent have type 2, which is caused by the body's inability to make enough insulin or to use it efficiently.

Since she was diagnosed at age 28 with type 1 diabetes, Rohde has been taking daily insulin shots and has been able to be active and healthy. But three years ago, she began to lose the ability to sense when her blood sugar was falling too low. This condition of hypoglycemia can cause loss of consciousness, coma and death if left untreated. Rohde's inability to sense it, known as hypoglycemic unawareness, progressively has gotten worse.

"It's so subtle," she says. "One way I can tell is I feel indecisiveness. I lose focus. You don't necessarily pass out, but you can."

It's especially dangerous for someone who lives alone, as Rohde does, because it can occur during sleep.

"The trouble with hypoglycemia is you don't wake up," she says.

She set two alarm clocks, hoping that would help, but she has awakened to neighbors pounding on her door because the clocks were ringing for hours.