Islet transplantation: clinical trials 2014-2015

Islet transplantation is the first cell therapy for type 1 diabetes. If clinical and metabolic benefits are now well documented in type 1 diabetic patients with brittle diabetes, several barriers such as organ scarcity, initial Islet loss or use of immunosuppressive treatment impair the widespread of islet transplantation to the entire type 1 diabetic population. To hope extending islet transplantation to the whole type 1 diabetic population, the identification of alternative islet sources, the definiton of a new implantation site for islet and the suppression of immunosuppresant treatment are currently the main objectives in the research field of islet transplantation.