Edward “Ed” Augustin III exhibits off his stabilized blood sugar throughout a post-operative appointment at UI Well being following an islet transplant with Lantidra. Credit score: Jack Martin/UI Well being
Medical doctors at UI Well being carried out the primary islet transplant with Lantidra, the one remedy accepted by the U.S. Meals and Drug Administration to deal with brittle sort 1 diabetes. A 69-year-old man from Illinois obtained the remedy on Aug. 26 and subsequently was in a position to cease taking every day, life-saving insulin injections.
Lantidra turned accessible completely at UI Well being in November 2024.
Pancreatic islet cell remedy is a remedy accepted by the FDA just for adults with sort 1 diabetes who wrestle to manage their blood sugar resulting from frequent episodes of extreme low blood sugar and hypoglycemia unawareness, or being unable to detect that blood sugar is dropping. Lantidra is derived from a deceased donor pancreas.
To control blood glucose, the drug is infused into the affected person’s liver the place insulin is produced. Lantidra requires a donor match decided by the United Community for Organ Sharing.
Sort 1 diabetes is a persistent autoimmune illness that requires lifelong care. Sufferers with sort 1 diabetes want a number of every day insulin injections or an insulin pump as a result of their very own immune system destroys the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas. Even with insulin, they’ll develop life-threatening problems, together with injury to the center, blood vessels, eyes, nerves and kidneys. The reason for sort 1 diabetes is unknown.
“This is the first time in the United States that an islet transplant was no longer experimental, rather an FDA-approved medical procedure,” stated Dr. Enrico Benedetti, head of surgical procedure at UI Well being. “I’m proud of the research that was done here at the University of Illinois Chicago to develop Lantidra with our doctors and our faculty.”
Every week after the transplant, the affected person, Edward “Ed” Augustin III, of Libertyville, Illinois, was in a position to cease taking every day, life-saving insulin injections.
“The advantage of islet transplant is that there is no age limit. We would never dream of doing a pancreas transplant on someone Ed’s age, as the risks are too great,” Benedetti stated. “With Lantidra, there are no surgical risks, and instead of being in the hospital for up to 12 days following an organ transplant, he was home within 24 hours.”
Augustin referred to as the process “life-changing.”
“I can be normal. This is huge. I’m going from shots and reactions to no shots and no reactions. This is just huge for me,” he stated.
Augustin was recognized with sort 1 diabetes when he was 5 years outdated, and he often skilled extreme low blood sugar and hypoglycemia unawareness. In a single occasion, Augustin recalled, he unintentionally walked right into a parked ambulance. When paramedics checked his blood sugar, it was at a dangerously low 10.
“When my blood sugar drops, it’s like I’m inebriated. I don’t remember anything,” Augustin added.
That is the third time Augustin has obtained an islet cell transplant. His first two procedures, in 2011, allowed him to stay with out insulin injections for 12 years. He relapsed in 2023 and as soon as once more required insulin injections every day to handle his diabetes.
Dr. Lorenzo Gallon, medical director of UI Well being’s belly organ transplant program and director of transplant analysis and the transplant analysis laboratory, stated the islet transplants have preserved Augustin’s well being.
“Pancreatic islet cell therapy not only helps treat hypoglycemic unawareness but may also help prevent kidney damage caused by diabetes if used early, before complications like diabetic nephropathy develop,” he stated.
In accordance with the Nationwide Institutes of Well being, greater than 1.4 million folks in america have sort 1 diabetes. Roughly 80,000 folks have brittle sort 1 diabetes, a extra extreme type of sort 1 diabetes. The illness can result in blindness, kidney failure, limb amputation, stroke and coronary heart assault.
UI Well being companions with particular person sufferers’ medical health insurance to acquire protection for Lantidra.
Lantidra was developed by way of analysis on the College of Illinois Chicago performed by Dr. José Oberholzer. The scientific trials that supported Lantidra have been performed at UI Well being, UIC’s tutorial well being enterprise. The scientific information have been licensed to CellTrans Inc., which Oberholzer based and serves as the corporate’s president, to develop the remedy for FDA approval.
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