Edmonton Protocol pioneers strike again
September 24, 2003 - Two University of Alberta researchers have managed another Canadian medical first.
Dr. James Shapiro and Dr. Jonathan Lakey directed a pancreas removal-islet-cell transplantation surgery on a 14 year-old girl earlier this month. It is only the second time this surgery has been performed on a child and the first-ever time in Canada. Shapiro and Lakey are two principal members of the U of A Edmonton Protocol team, which developed an islet-cell transplantation procedure to treat patients with severe type 1 diabetes.
Amanda Marr-Crouse of New Brunswick had been suffering from genetic pancreatitis. The only current treatment is pancreas removal, which leads to the onset of diabetes because the body loses its islet-cells--the cells found in the pancreas and used to form insulin.
The surgery Shapiro and Lakey performed on Marr-Crouse has "been around for awhile" for adults, Lakey said. But it has only been performed twice so far on children because it is rare for children to show signs of the disease.
During the eight-hour procedure, Shapiro removed the pancreas, and then Lakey culled islet-cells from it, which were then injected into the liver.
"It will take time for the islet-cells to ingraft in the liver and develop a new blood supply," Lakey said. "The pancreas was abused and scarred; it was difficult, but we were able to get some cells out and hopefully enough so that we won't need to inject more islets-cells from a donor in the future."
Transplanting donated cells would mean Marr-Crouse would then need to take auto-immune suppressant--or anti-rejection--drugs, which she doesn't need now because the transplanted cells used in the surgery two weeks ago were her own.
Marr-Crouse was treated at the Stollery Children's Health Centre in the U of A Hospital. She returned home to the Maritimes yesterday where she is expected to remain in post-operative care for two weeks in a hospital in Halifax.
"We're fairly optimistic that she'll be able to lead a healthy, normal life now," Lakey said.
Related stories
Islet isolation lab opens for business (ExpressNews, November 29, 2002): http://www.expressnews.ualberta.ca/expressnews/articles/news.cfm?p_ID=3448&s=a
Islet cell transplantation gets a blue-collar boost, (ExpressNews, Sept. 18, 2002):
http://www.expressnews.ualberta.ca/expressnews/articles/news.cfm?p_ID=2985&s=a
Islet cell transplantations continue to succeed (ExpressNews, August 27, 2002):
http://www.expressnews.ualberta.ca/expressnews/articles/news.cfm?p_ID=2840
$23.8 million launches islet transplant clinical centre, (ExpressNews, Nov. 8, 2001):
http://www.expressnews.ualberta.ca/expressnews/articles/news.cfm?p_ID=1372&s=a
Related links - internal
The U of A Clinical Islet Cell Transplant Program website: http://www.med.ualberta.ca/islet/
The U of A Department of Surgery website: http://www.surgery.ualberta.ca/
Related link – external
The Capital Health website: http://www.capitalhealth.ca/default.htm
