Posted by Sandy Donchess on February 23, 1999 at 11:43:09:
Tuesday February 23, 9:15 am Eastern Time
Company Press Release
SOURCE: Oklahoma Department of Commerce
New Insulin Supply Answers Are Focus of Oklahoma Research
Bio-Artificial Pancreas May Be One of the Solutions
STILLWATER, Okla., Feb. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- The fact is, you cannot live without a ready and nearly complete supply of insulin producing beta cells in your body. These valuable cells respond to the intake of sugar, and help keep the system's blood glucose level in balance. This delicate system balance makes possible the intended movement of glucose from our blood into other human cells, providing our bodies with energy and allowing growth to occur.
When the system fails, repercussions range from the need for life sustaining treatments with medications to the harsh possibility of death. This latter extreme occurs more than 200,000 times each year in the U.S. alone.
The existence of these realities has led an Oklahoma bioengineering researcher to investigate the development of a part artificial, part natural pancreas that will supply proper amounts of insulin when the body's natural pancreatic gland is incapable of doing so on its own. This medical facilitator is referred to as a bio-artificial pancreas.
Dr. Randy Lewis, an MIT doctoral graduate and assistant professor of chemical engineering at Oklahoma State University, is combining his engineering knowledge with his interests in biomedicine. His aim is to evaluate the efficacy and potentials of such as a hybrid system that could have an impact of health and human lives on a worldwide scale.
Each year, nearly three-quarters of a million persons in the U.S. alone are diagnosed with some form of diabetes, a disorder of the metabolic function of the body. The total number of persons in this country with diagnosed diabetes now exceeds 10 million. These individuals, those with diabetes that remain undiagnosed -- estimated to be more than 5 million -- and those with other pancreatic-related conditions, do not have balanced insulin producing-glucose absorbing systems. Some have no insulin producing system at all, or at best, a poorly functioning one.
To make the issues of these metabolic disorders worse, no cure has been found and none is on the immediate horizon.
Under normal circumstances, the human gland called the pancreas produces and dispenses insulin on an ``as needed'' basis when a certain level of the simple sugar, glucose, is detected in the blood stream.
Failure with this theoretically perfect, yet sometimes imperfectly functioning, system occurs when the natural pancreas producing the insulin fails or functions at less than desired levels. Further, complications can arise when the insulin produced is somehow inhibited or prevented from reacting to offset excessive glucose levels.
What Dr. Lewis' research is focused on is the feasibility of a bio-artificial method of delivering insulin when the human pancreas fails to do so in the normal manner, amount and time.
``We are looking at several factors that come into play and affect the ability of insulin cells incorporated in a bio-artificial pancreas to react with glucose levels in the body,'' says Dr. Lewis. ``Our research is currently focused on how the bio-artificial pancreas might interact with the immune system of the body.''
The research Lewis is conducting could lead to the improved development of membrane encapsulated or coated ``islets'' or clumps of insulin beta cells that could be placed in the body, but outside the arterial blood transport system. In theory, the existence of excess glucose in the system would trigger the release of appropriate amounts of insulin cells through the coating or membrane. ``This system will have to be such that it will not allow immune system elements or toxins -- including nitric oxide and superoxide -- to permeate and destroy the insulin cells inside,'' says Lewis.
Dr. Lewis is currently working on the development of theoretical computer models that will look at both the design parameters and the development potentials of such an artificial insulin delivery system. ``Of course, we're only looking at one small part of the equation dealing with pancreatic function and Type 1 diabetes. At the same time, we feel the immune response is a vitally important issue to address in the development of solutions to this widespread health care problem,'' Lewis stated.
According to 1997 American Diabetes Association information, total costs related to the existence of diagnosed diabetes in the U.S. were close to $100 billion annually. According to the same report, total annual medical costs for persons with Type I and II diabetes approach $78 billion, or a per capita yearly cost of $10,071 as opposed to an annual per capita medical cost of $2,669 per person without diabetes.
Initial funding for Lewis' research was in the form of a National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant.
About Oklahoma
Oklahoma, a rapidly growing center of commerce and industry, is of special interest to high-tech firms planning to expand their operations. Metro Oklahoma's communities of Tulsa and Oklahoma City have multiple sites suitable for high tech industry, especially fabs. The State offers a comprehensive incentive package that has helped some of the most recognizable corporate names in the world to locate new or expand existing facilities there, including Lucent Technologies, Seagate Technology and WorldCom.
Incentives include a cash back program for the creation of new jobs, a highly beneficial state tax policy, a property tax exemption paid by the state so that local schools and government never lose revenue, and a liberal tax depreciation schedule.
Oklahoma Department of Commerce telephone: 800-588-5959. Web site: http://www.locateok.com.
SOURCE: Oklahoma Department of Commerce
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------