More than Tang comes from NASA. Anyway, from Encapsulife, they’re also excited the patent was approved–which in itself doesn’t mean all that much, I’m assuming. Right?
Technologically it does seen a wonder.
Utilizing insights from compound droplet experiments performed in the microgravity of NASA Shuttle Mission STS-51-B, Encapsulife founder, Dr. Taylor Wang, has developed an immunoisolation encapsulation system that protects cellular transplants, and sustains cell function — without immunosuppression drugs and their resulting negative side effects.
This novel immunoisolation system is a multi-component, multi-membrane capsule that allows independent optimization of all capsule design parameters ensuring reproducible functions in large animals and humans. Results of Encapsulife’s successful large animal trials, have recently been published in peer-reviewed research in Transplantation Journal. In this landmark research, encapsulated canine pancreatic islets were transplanted into dogs rendered diabetic by total pancreatectomy. No immunosuppression or anti-inflammatory therapy was used.
Might be a real breakthrough. To this point, the only published research from Dr. Wang that I can find on this subject relates to experiments in mice and dogs (there has been an announcement that patch implementation supposedly works in primates).
There have been no clinical trials to assess this technology in humans.
From what I can tell, this is not a permanent cure for diabetes. The dog trial mentions normalization of fasting glucose levels for nine months, and short-term success of re-transplantation after that. I don’t see from the abstract anything about how well it works when animals eat a normal diet and are subject to swings in blood glucose levels. I am also a bit queasy about the company’s press releases, including statements on their website like:
“The data associated with Encapsulife’s research remains part of Encapsulife’s patented intellectual property and portfolio of trade secrets.”
Um, their data is going to have to be reproduced outside a closely guarded company setting and confirmed by independent sources before we can sign on to their product.
Great if it works in humans, but much work has to be done first.
I remember reading an article in Scientific American somewhere in the mid-90s reporting on very similar work. Basically, the idea was to isolate islet cells from…somewhere…and encapsulate them in plastic with a very specific pore size. The pores would allow sugar and insulin to pass in and out, but keep out antibodies and other immune system components, thus avoiding rejection. I never read any followup, but I’m assuming that if it had panned out, we would have heard about it by now.
Perhaps they are saying that everything is either one or the other, rather than saying that both apply to the entire set. You know, logical XOR rather than logical AND.
I think the statement is troubling, not because of some combination of logical operators, but specifically because that kind of blanket statement about intellectual property rights usually boils down to “We own this because SHUT THE FUCK UP.”