[In vitro study and clinical transplantation of human fetal islands of Langerhans]. / Humán fetális Langerhans szigetek in vitro vizsgálata és klinikai transzplantációja.

ABSTRACT

A simple and reliable procedure was developed for the long-term culturing and cryopreservation of human fetal pancreatic islets. The methods involved can ensure the survival and the growth capacity of fetal tissue. The long-term cultivation or cryoculturing of fetal islet tissue was applied in 23 clinical transplantatious on the basis of the experimental study. All of the diabetic patients suffered progressive retinopathy and three of them had nephropathy as well. After grafting the insulin requirement reduced significantly (39.4%) correlated with the higher serum C-peptide level (mean 0.41 ng/ml). During the long-term follow-up (9 yrs), the graft function failed in 5 cases, while in 18 successful cases the long term graft function depended on the volume of the grafted islet mass. The results suggest that the transplantation of fetal pancreatic islet has a beneficial effect in the early stage of diabetic complications.