In type 1 diabetes, islets in the pancreas are destroyed by the body's immune system. Without islets, the body cannot produce insulin. People with type 1 diabetes require several injections of insulin each day.
The Director of the Islet and Pancreas Transplant Program and the Chief of the Division of Transplantation at the University of Illinois at Chicago, Dr. Jose Olberholzer, MD discusses how he and fellow researchers have modified the procedure for islet cell transplantation and achieved insulin independence in diabetes patients.
Promising Advances for Type 1 Diabetes: Islet Cell Transplant
University of Illinois at Chicago is one of only a few centers worldwide able to achieve insulin independence in severe type 1 diabetes patients.
Additional Info
- Segment Number: 2
- Audio File: staying_well/1246sw1b.mp3
- Featured Speaker: Dr. Jose Oberholzer, MD
- Organization: University of Chicago Department of Surgery
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Guest Bio:
Dr. Jose Oberholzer, MD, is an Associate Professor of Surgery, Endocrinology and Diabetes, and Bioengineering at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), the Director of the Islet and Pancreas Transplant Program and the Chief of the Division of Transplantation. He has extensive experience in clinical and experimental islet transplantation, abdominal organ transplantation, as well as advanced hepatobiliary and pancreatic surgery.
He trained at the University of Geneva (Switzerland), as well as at the University of Alberta in Edmonton (Canada), where he completed a fellowship in hepatobiliary and pancreatic surgery and transplantation. Dr. Oberholzer was the Head of the Islet Transplant Program at the University of Geneva and the GRAGIL islet consortium from 1998 to 2002, completing a significant number of islet transplants. He has been heading UIC's Islet Transplant Program since 2003 and is the Chief of the Transplant Division at UIC since Summer 2007. UIC has a comprehensive multi-organ transplant program with emphasis on transplantation for diabetes, as well as on robotic surgery in living donors for kidney, liver, pancreas and small bowel.
Dr. Oberholzer is also an expert in advance minimally invasive and robotic surgery of abdominal organs.
UIC is a federally funded islet cell resource center and provides islet preparation for researchers around the world. UIC has a comprehensive islet transplant research program with emphasis on improving clinical outcomes, expanding the available human islets and avoiding long-term immunosuppression. - Length (mins): 10
- Waiver Received: Yes
- Host: Melanie Cole, MS
Published in
Staying Well
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