What Medical Scientists Do In Minsk, Nobody Has Ever Done Before:
Revolutionary Cure for Type 1 Diabetes
During twenty-five years a group of Belarusian scientists, headed by
Professor Stanislav Tretyak, have been tirelessly developing a totally new
direction of medicine. Specialists named this period of their lives the time
of search, disappointments, joy and, finally, the triumph of scientific
idea. They found Klondike for Belarus, because the method invented by
scientists to cure diabetes is much in demand all over the world.
So what did Professor Tretyak and his team invent? A unique method to cure
type 1 diabetes. As is known, diabetics live thanks to injections of
artificial or animal insulin. The many years of scientific experiments made
it possible for Belarusian scientists to transplant for diabetics islet
cells from pancreas of rabbits and pigs.
What happens during the operation? The transplant is encased in a special
miniature container, which resembles a synthetic tube, and is placed in a
blood vessel. Since the tube is porous, nutrients freely penetrate it
without affecting the blood flow. The transplanted material becomes a
powerful support for the diseased pancreas of the patient. Notably, it
immediately becomes unnecessary for the patient to get the full dose of
insulin, it decreases three times. Sometimes the patient refuses injections
altogether.
It took the scientists quite a long time to avoid an initially painful
abdominal operation, after which the patient recovers very slowly. Now
forearm vessels are operated on. Tretyak says the patients are happy: after
cell transplantation they easily get up and walk, are sooner discharged of
hospital. For surgeons, though, that operation is complicated: it is done
with special microsurgical equipment and miniature instruments.
Although Belarusian scientists have made a breakthrough in science, they
understand that the developed technology is not a panacea. It has, as any
medical method, its contra-indications. All patients have to be thoroughly
examined before the operation. The first patient was a 50-year-old woman.
She lives freely and comfortably during 2,5 years after the operation. All
together, 18 patients have so far been operated on. The operations are free.
The scientists are short of transplantation material. Professor Tretyak
hopes this problem will be settled soon in Belarus. The Minister of Health
Lyudmila Postoyalko considers cell biotechnology a priority area of
healthcare development. The scientists get every support. It is planned to
set up a large laboratory to grow cells in Minsk Hospital No 9.
The work of the group of scientists has been nominated for State Award of
the Republic of Belarus.
