You may soon love pigs for more than bacon. Islet cells from pigs may hold the key to curing diabetes.

A recent study revealed the transplantation of insulin-producing islet cells from pigs reversed diabetes in monkeys, giving researchers hope the results will also hold true for humans.

“Our success in monkeys suggests it is feasible to use pig islet cells in the not-too-distant future to reverse diabetes in people,” Bernhard Hering, M.D., scientific director of the Diabetes Institute for Immunology and Transplantation at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, told Ivanhoe. “While research focused on improving the safety of immunosuppression needed to prevent pig islet transplant rejection continues, the Spring Point Project raises suitable pigs meeting all safety requirements with the eventual goal of bringing this treatment to people."

Source:Breakthrough Digest
and Ivanhoe interview with Bernhard Hering, M.D.; to be presented at the Diabetes Research and Wellness Foundation Symposium in Minneapolis, Minn., September 20, 2007