Mount Sinai Hospital

A Portable Insulin Factory Mount Sinai's Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute A Portable Insulin Factory Islets only make up about 2 per cent of the mass of the human pancreas, but they are the key to producing insulin. In a small five-millimetre area on a square gel foam that resembles soft Styrofoam packaging material, millions of insulin-producing cells – called islets – are grown and harvested by Dr. Ian Rogers' team at Mount Sinai's Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute. By simulating and manipulating these cells they will ultimately perform the powerhouse blood sugar regulating function of a pancreas. It's not quite growing a pancreas in a Petri dish, but it's the next best thing. It is here, in one of The Lunenfeld's largest labs, located in one of Toronto's most respected hospitals, that the promise of a more effective and simple treatment of type 1 diabetes is being played out. The premise of this research is simple – recreate the function of the pancreas, which in diabetics, does not function properly, so that patients can begin to live normal, healthy lives. Dr. Rogers hopes to one day be able to package these lab-grown islets into a medium about the size of a lima bean that could be inserted just under the skin of a type 1 diabetic patient to help regulate blood sugar levels. Decades of fluctuating blood sugar levels often leads to major health issues in diabetics such as kidney and eye disease. While clinical trials of this research are a few years away, Dr. Rogers has a clear vision of how his discovery could work. "We would expect patients will still have to monitor their blood sugar and take some insulin injections in the first generation of this therapy, but it should reduce or even eliminate the need for both eventually," Rogers says. "More importantly, it should help regulate the spikes in blood sugar and reduce the associated complications," he adds. The assumption is that the lab-grown islets would take about three months after implantation before they became fully functional because they would reach maturity as they were nourished by a patient's own blood supply. The islets would then remain active in a person's At the heart of the islet production is research Rogers began about ten years ago on blood cells extracted from umbilical cords. "We came up with a way to change them, so they would become more than just plain blood cells. They started acting more like multi-potential cells." These cells, reprogrammed through culturing, can then be further stimulated and grown into various different cells with Rogers said he is driven to work towards a direct application in the research he pursues. But he stressed that upfront financial investment and support of basic science is critical because all clinical therapies start out as a basic research question. "Groundbreaking quantum leaps have to come from fresh ideas inspired by basic research," he says. "I always emphasize that the goal in my lab is for our discoveries to make their way to the clinic, to be directly translated into therapies to help patients." "My lab is targeting specific ways for diabetics to manage their disease in a way that will improve their quality of life. That's what motivates me – the impact that our research has on a patient's ability to live a better, healthier life," Rogers says. Dr. Ian Rogers Associate Scientist, Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute of Mount Sinai Hospital body for six months to a year before the individual would require a replacement. "There is a real need for more manageable diabetes treatments out there," says Rogers. "The other day a mother of a 16 year old said to me: "Teenagers don't listen - they don't take their injections. If you gave me six months of peace of not having to nag my son to take his injections, I'd be so happy." specialized functions, such as insulin-producing cells. Four years ago Rogers progressed to creating the three dimensional insulin-producing islet-like cells of a pancreas. Islets only make up about two per cent of the mass of the human pancreas, but they are the key to producing insulin. A research breakthrough that would allow my body to even temporarily produce and regulate insulin would be like a dream come true. Debbi Ross, type 1 diabetes patient. Connection Between Insulin and Breast Cancer Discovered While one group of researchers at Mount Sinai Hospital is breaking new ground in the regulation of insulin production and its potential impact on diabetics, in another corner of the Hospital, Dr. Pamela Goodwin, the Marvelle Koffler Chair in Breast Research, has made a major discovery linking insulin levels with a woman's risk of recurrence in breast cancer. Dr. Goodwin's pivotal research has found that high levels of insulin stimulate the growth of tumours and increases the likelihood Mount Sinai's Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute of breast cancer returning. She is leading the largest worldwide clinical trial of a common diabetes medication – Metformin – to examine its ability to reduce the recurrence of breast cancer and improve the survival for women with early stages of the disease. Discoveries and insights gained about the progression and treatment of one disease can profoundly enlighten and guide the course of treating another. So, the impact of the original investment in the research is multiplied. This is an example of how collaboration is ultimately an advantage of conducting scientific research in a hospital setting. Connection Between Insulin and Breast Cancer Discovered

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