Internet Interactive Speaker Forum on Islet Cell Transplantation.

[Guest guest]

Hello,

I wanted to let you know of two Internet Interactive Speaker Forums hosted by

DiabetesPortal.org. This is an organization dedicated to providing education,

support, and advocacy for persons with Diabetes. They have a state of the

art advanced interactive chat room, specifically designed for hosting speakers

followed by a question and answer time.

I encourage you to visit their website at: DiabetesPortal.org and log on in

time to get the full benefit of these two speakers whose topics are focused on

Islet Cell Transplantation. The first one is tomorrow night which is also the

weekly chat night. You can attend the PAI Chat at 8:00pm EST and then go over

to the DiabetesPortal for the 9:00pm EST program.

http://www.diabetesstation.com/ is the URL to the Diabetes Station, which is

the part of the Diabetes Portal for speaker sessions. Specific information for

these programs are below:

[1] ISLET XENOTRANSPLANTATION

Dr. Greg Korbutt University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada

Wednesday, February 25th 9:00 PM U.S. East Coast Time

Dr. Greg Korbutt is part of the world-famous islet transplantation team at

the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada. It's at the University of Alberta

where the successful Edmonton Protocol was developed and islet cell

transplant success rates rose dramatically, making islet transplantation the

hope for a

cure for many people living with diabetes. Yet two of the major obstacles to

widespread application of islet transplantation are the long-term need for

immunosuppression drugs to prevent rejection and a scarce supply of islet cells.

Dr. Korbutt's has been able to protect rat islets from immune attack over the

long term without any anti-rejection drugs by transplanting islets with

Sertoli cells. Dr. Korbutt’s research could make it possible to transplant

non-human islets into people, thereby tapping into an unlimited source of

islets,

while achieving insulin independence without the need for anti-rejection drug

therapy.

[2] ADVANCES IN PANCREAS TRANSPLANTATION

Dr. Rainer Gruessner, Professor of Surgery University of Minnesota

Thursday, February 26th 9:00 PM U.S. East Coast Time

In the past few years, new protocols for pancreas transplantation have been

introduced and there have been substantial improvements in outcome. Dr. Rainer

Gruessner, who is a Professor of Surgery at the University of Minnesota, the

world's first and largest pancreas transplant center, will talk about these

advances.

Dr. Gruessner will also talk about the new reference book, which he and Dr.

Sutherland, head of the University of Minnesota pancreas transplant

program, have edited. The book, Transplantation of the Pancreas, is expected to

be

the definitive reference to summarize the options and advances in pancreas

transplantation, and put forth the standard of future care. The new text will be

published and available this month through Springer-Verlag Publishers.

You may want to go visit DiabetesPortal before tomorrow night to allow time

for you to sign in and orient yourself to how it works. It will be worth it.

Additionally, I am interested in your feedback regarding your experience with

the interactive forum / chat room software. The PAI wants to initiate a

Pancreatic Speaker's Series, and we are looking at the most user friendly

program

available. This would allow us to have " mini seminars " throughout the year to

reach out to those unable to gather for the Annual Symposium.

Karyn E. , RN

Executive Director, PAI

http://www.pancassociation.org

Pancreatitis Association International