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Maybe Michael Moore isn't too far off with his conspiracy theories about drugstores. He says that the reason we haven't cured a lot of things is because the drug companies wouldn't make money if they were cured. That seemed a little far out there to me, but it IS funny how we don't come up with most medical discoveries till England or Canada has already discovered them.
Transplant cures man of diabetes
Richard Lane is now free of daily insulin injectionsA 61-year-old man has become the first person in the UK to be cured of type 1 diabetes thanks to a groundbreaking cell transplant technique.
After receiving insulin-making cells from the pancreases of dead donors, Richard Lane of Bromley, Kent, no longer needs insulin injections.
The King's College Hospital team said the breakthrough was hugely exciting for people with type 1 diabetes.
But the technique is not perfect. Many patients still require top-up insulin.
It is almost like being a totally different person
Richard Lane
Transplant recipient
Q&A: Transplant for diabetes
Mr Lane, who has had diabetes for over 30 years, had his first islet transplant in September, followed by a second transplant a month later and the third at the end of January.
He told the Guardian newspaper: "I haven't felt better in myself for 30 years. I have to pinch myself to ensure I am not dreaming."
Mr Lane said he used to suffer attacks of low blood sugar which could lead to unconsciousness.
"My wife used to dread me going out of the front door in case there was a call from the ambulance service. I am now doing half an hour's brisk walk every day, and I have lost a stone-and-a-half in six months," he said.
"It is almost like being a totally different person."
He now has to take drugs to stop his body rejecting the transplanted cells.
Two other UK patients who have been treated with the procedure still need small doses of insulin.
The implications for the future are enormous
Lead researcher at King's Professor Stephanie Amiel
Canadian researchers were the first to demonstrate that people with type 1 diabetes could remain free of insulin injections after the treatment was complete.
For the transplant, healthy islet cells are taken from donor pancreases and injected into the patient's liver.
Once there, they develop their own blood supply and begin to produce insulin.
Transplant cures man of diabetes
Richard Lane is now free of daily insulin injectionsA 61-year-old man has become the first person in the UK to be cured of type 1 diabetes thanks to a groundbreaking cell transplant technique.
After receiving insulin-making cells from the pancreases of dead donors, Richard Lane of Bromley, Kent, no longer needs insulin injections.
The King's College Hospital team said the breakthrough was hugely exciting for people with type 1 diabetes.
But the technique is not perfect. Many patients still require top-up insulin.
It is almost like being a totally different person
Richard Lane
Transplant recipient
Q&A: Transplant for diabetes
Mr Lane, who has had diabetes for over 30 years, had his first islet transplant in September, followed by a second transplant a month later and the third at the end of January.
He told the Guardian newspaper: "I haven't felt better in myself for 30 years. I have to pinch myself to ensure I am not dreaming."
Mr Lane said he used to suffer attacks of low blood sugar which could lead to unconsciousness.
"My wife used to dread me going out of the front door in case there was a call from the ambulance service. I am now doing half an hour's brisk walk every day, and I have lost a stone-and-a-half in six months," he said.
"It is almost like being a totally different person."
He now has to take drugs to stop his body rejecting the transplanted cells.
Two other UK patients who have been treated with the procedure still need small doses of insulin.
The implications for the future are enormous
Lead researcher at King's Professor Stephanie Amiel
Canadian researchers were the first to demonstrate that people with type 1 diabetes could remain free of insulin injections after the treatment was complete.
For the transplant, healthy islet cells are taken from donor pancreases and injected into the patient's liver.
Once there, they develop their own blood supply and begin to produce insulin.