UVA Performs Virginia's First Islet Autotransplantation
Earlier this year, a UVA team performed the state's first islet autotransplantation, a procedure that can prevent diabetes and may lead to treatments for other serious diseases.
A surgical team led by Reid Adams, M.D, removed the diseased portion of the pancreas from a 15-year-old girl with pancreatitis. The diseased pancreas was taken to UVA's Islet Cell Transplantation Center.
The diseased pancreas was infused with an enzyme to break it down, and placed in a centrifuge to isolate the islet cells, says Kenneth Brayman, M.D., the Islet Cell Transplantation Center's director. The islet cells were then purified and infused into the patient's liver to prevent her from developing diabetes. Infusing the patient's own islet cells eliminates the potential rejection by the patient. The patient is now diabetes free and no longer uses insulin, Brayman says. He credited the successful outcome to a multidisciplinary team - including Adams; J. Fritz Angle, M.D.; Paul Yeaton, M.D.; and Michel Kahaleh, M.D.
Brayman believes the islet autotransplant - which benefits patients with chronic pancreatitis - may lead to other cell therapies for such problems as heart and neurodegenerative conditions.
"Diabetes is an epidemic, and we need to make sure we can prevent people from becoming diabetic in any way we can," he says.
To refer a patient for islet autotransplantation consideration, call UVA Physician Direct at 800-552-3723.