Implantable Capsule for Diabetes
March 15, 2016 | Terry Sharrer
Islet cell transplantation has been tried for several years in treating Type 1 diabetes, but the body’s immune response diminishes that strategy. Implantable devices for releasing insulin have had the problem of scar tissue accumulation eventually rendering them ineffective. But now MIT researchers have developed an implantable capsule, 1.5 mm in size, which contains living islet cells and is protected with a coating of alginate and a polymer known as triazole-thiomorpholine dioxide. In animal studies, so far, the encapsulated insulin-producing cells have controlled serum glucose levels, and the device has not generated much scar tissue build up for six months. MORE
Image Credit: MIT news