Clinical Research Directory

Clinical Outcome After Total Pancreatectomy With Islet Autotransplantation

A total pancreatectomy with islet autotransplantation (TPIAT) can be performed for a number of benign indications, such as chronic pancreatitis. In the current standard of treatment, after non-invasive, endoscopic efforts and other surgical options to relieve the pain, a total pancreatectomy is a last resort option. The pancreas is surgically removed during this procedure. Afterwards, the patient will have diabetes mellitus that is usually difficult to control with dependency on exogenous insulin administration. In TPIAT, a total pancreatectomy is followed by islet isolation from the resected pancreas and autotransplantation of these islets into the liver by means of a transhepatic intraportal islet infusion. Depending on the number and quality of islets, TPIAT may lead to full islet function so that no anti-hyperglycemic therapy is necessary or to partial islet function necessitating anti-hyperglycemic therapy. This can be only oral agents with reasonable islet function or complex insulin regimes with poor islet function. However, even with partial Islet function, glycemic control is easier with a lower risk of hypoglycemic events and diabetes-related complications, and an overall improvement of quality of life. In this cohort, the endocrine function and glycemic variability will be monitored over time (up to 15 years). Additionally, pain scores, pain perception and central sensitization, quality of life, exocrine pancreatic insufficiency and diabetes-related stress will be monitored.

Arginine-stimulated Indication of Early Outcome After Islet Transplantation

Through islet transplantation, functional β-cell mass can be restored. Allogeneic islet transplantation is a treatment modality for a select group of patients with complicated type 1 diabetes mellitus. For patients undergoing (partial) pancreas resection, autologous islet transplantation may help prevent complicated diabetes. Up until now, no studies have been performed on early islet graft function in the first week after transplantation. Early graft function may be a predictor for estimating long-term islet graft success. Arginine can excite β-cells to release insulin. It can thus provide an estimate of β-cell secretory capacity and can be used as an alternative to (oral) glucose tolerance tests. In this study, we aim to find a predictor model for islet graft function by assessing peak C-peptide after arginine stimulus in the early post-transplantation phase.