The elusive quest for a cure
In today’s New England Journal of Medicine there’s an excellent article Diabetes Cure- Is the Glass Half Full? by Jonathan S Broomberg, M.D., Ph.D. and Derek LeRoith, M.D., Ph.D. The article discusses the potential and pitfalls of islet cell transplants.
Back in 2000, a group at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada, published a study which demonstrated that islet transplantation could be a cure for diabetes. After years of failed attempts at finding a cure, islet transplantation looked promising. According to the article, “The excellent initial results have been followed by disappointment, since only 10% of recipients maintained insulin independence after 5 years.”
With the many research efforts underway and money being spent on islet cell research hopefully a breakthrough is coming. The real point here isn’t that islet cell transplants a once promising area have failed. Nothing could be further from the truth, this research is worthy of pursuing. The real point here is just how elusive a cure is. Back in 2000 Diabetic Investor cautioned that islet cell transplants while promising still had a long way to go. Sadly we were correct.
Investors should keep this in mind, when the next cure comes along.
David Kliff
Publisher
Diabetic Investor
www.diabeticinvestor.com
www.davesrunfordiabetes.blogspot.com
847-634-4777
800-783-3712
847-634-4646 fax
224-715-3761 mobile
