Researchers are one step closer to reducing the effects of type-1 diabetes after developing a way to implant insulin-generating cells into the pancreas. According to publisher IOP , this method was previously unsuccessful, but has begun to work now that scientists can “3D-print” a structure to protect the cells. Previous attempts to implant these cells, called islets of Langerhans , have been unsuccessful because the body’s immune system would attack them as soon as they were injected. This time around, however, the team embedded the cells into a three-dimensional structure made from a mixture of alginate and gelatin. Another problem, however, was developing a scaffold that could both hold the islets in place and keep them protected while letting blood and insulin pass through. Right now, the project is just some grim-looking petri dishes at the University of Twente , but if the process can be refined, then type-1 diabetics may never again have to suffer the effects of an attack of hypoglycemia. Filed under: Science , Alt Comments Via: Eurekalert Source: IOP (.PDF)
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‘3D printing’ used to test a ‘cure’ for type-1 diabetes
