Recent Progress in Clinical Islet Transplantation / 한양의대학술지

ABSTRACT

Allo-islet transplantation is believed to be a promising treatment for normalizing blood glucose levels without hypoglycemic episodes in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). In 2000, a pioneering study by the Edmonton group showed that allo-islet transplantation could achieve insulin independence for at least 1 year post-transplantation in all seven consecutive patients. This breakthrough study excited numerous researchers, clinicians, and patients. Although longer follow-up studies did not have the same success as the first study, substantial efforts to establish successful islet transplantation have been made in the last decade. Several leading centers of islet transplantation have reported success rates of nearly 50% insulin independence at 5 years post-transplantation. However, recent advancements in transplant outcomes are limited to only a few centers and select patients; thus, we are still confronted with numerous hurdles against long-term successful islet transplantation. Herein, we review the recent advances and challenges for allo-islet transplantation to be accepted as a standard therapy for patients with T1DM.