Endocrine Abstracts

In type 1 diabetes mellitus the insulin-secreting β-cells in pancreatic islets of Langerhans are selectively destroyed by autoimmune assault. Since diabetes is caused by the loss of a single cell type it is amenable to treatment by cell replacement therapy. Advances in islet transplantation procedures have demonstrated that people with type 1 diabetes can be cured by human islet transplantation, but the severely limited availability of donor islets has restricted the wide...

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is part of a group of disorders termed ‘organ-specific autoimmune diseases’, involving destructive inflammation focused on the insulin-producing beta cells in the islet of Langerhans. Patients (frequently children) lose endogenous insulin production and are required to inject insulin several times per day for the remainder of their lives, and, after many years, frequently develop severe life-threatening complications affecting the kidneys, heart...

Devices for continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) measure interstitial glucose as a marker of changes in blood glucose. Although still lacking the accuracy of blood glucose meters, the CGM devices currently available have improved glucose control. The established technique of continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII) uses a portable electromechanical pump to mimic non-diabetic insulin delivery, infusing insulin at pre-selected rates. Essentially, a slow basal rate is achie...