Thanks to the work of Edmonton researchers, thousands of people with type 1 diabetes around the world have received life-changing treatments.
Nina Greene is among them.
Four years ago, the RCMP showed up at their home in Fort McMurray, Alta, urging them to contact the University of Alberta Hospital in Edmonton.
Greene, who was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 2003 and struggled with it for years, was on a waiting list for an islet cell transplant – a procedure that could put an end to her fluctuating blood sugar levels and frequent hospital visits.
She had been warned to keep her phone close in case donor cells became available, but after months of waiting she had turned it off for one night – the night it was her turn. She called the hospital and was told to go there as soon as possible.
After driving to Edmonton that night, she received an injection of pancreatic islet cells into her liver.
The short process worked. Greene is still taking rejection medication to keep her body from rejecting donor cells, but she no longer takes insulin because the islet cells make it.
“Every night I pray and thank U of A Hospital for giving me a second chance at a better life,” she told CBC News.
Nina Greene had a “Type 1 Diabetic” tattooed on one of her wrists in case she was ever found unconscious. (Supplied by Nina Greene)
Future treatment
University A researchers pioneered the treatment Greene received in 2000 – called the Edmonton Protocol. Twenty-one years later, the transplant team recently completed its 700th islet cell infusion in Edmonton. The procedure has been replicated around the world and used to treat approximately 3,000 people.
Instead of celebrating the achievement, the researchers behind the breakthrough focus on the future.
Dr. James Shapiro, a professor of surgery at the University of A who leads the Edmonton Protocol team, said researchers are facing two major challenges: reducing or eliminating the use of anti-rejection drugs and developing therapies, which could potentially turn stem cells into islet cells.
“I think five or ten years from now, the standard treatment for diabetes, type 1 and possibly type 2, will be cell transplant, rather than those other types of therapies that patients struggle with every day,” Shapiro said in an interview with CBC Edmonton’s Radio Active on Monday.
Although the Edmonton Protocol has been successful in patients with difficult-to-control diabetes, it is not a cure for the disease, Shapiro said.
For one thing, there aren’t enough donor islet cells for the millions of people who need them.
And because islet cells are transported from one person to another, recipients like Greene must take anti-rejection drugs for the rest of their lives. These immunosuppressive drugs can have side effects and a higher risk of certain cancers and infections, Shapiro said.
Radio active8:36Could a cure for diabetes be near at hand?
The Fort McMurray woman shares her life-changing treatment for diabetes through the U of A. Dr. Shapiro and his team developed the Edmonton Protocol, now they’re working hard on a possible cure for diabetes. 8:36
Shapiro and his colleagues are trying to convert the own blood cells of patients with type 1 diabetes into insulin-producing cells that could be returned to them. If successful, this treatment could completely eliminate the need for anti-rejection drugs.
“It’s a long way from where we are to this point, but it’s within our reach,” he said.
The Diabetes Research Institute Foundation Canada (DRIFCan) raised more than $ 1 million last year to support this research, but the team is aiming for an additional $ 22 million.
“We have a lot of work to do if we are really going to accelerate this research, but it has helped us tremendously,” said Shapiro.
