news, local-news, the children's hospital westmead, type 1 diabetes, cord blood research, kevin nguyen, isla robinson, Rachel Weldon, Maria Craig

THE key to preventing type 1 diabetes may have just started with a four-year-old girl named Isla Robinson. In a world first, The Children's Hospital at Westmead began a trial for a treatment using the blood from a person's umbilical cord as a preventative measure. While previous methods involve drugs to suppress the immune system from attacking itself, this trial is using stem cells as a way of "rebalancing and rebooting" it. Study director Maria Craig, a paediatric endocrinologist, explained: "There was a need to rethink the conventional approach. We needed to consider replacing or supplementing the important white blood cells, rather than suppress it." Professor Craig said the aim was to intervene before the regulatory T-cell, which naturally produces insulin, becomes deficient. "Preventing type 1 diabetes is the holy grail," she said. "But even if we can stop insulin injections for life, that would be a pretty major accomplishment as well." Cord blood has been previously used to treat leukaemia and other neurological disorders, but few studies involve patients using their own. After an intensive screening process of 100 children, Isla was the first person to be re-infused with her own cord blood. Her family, from Western Australia, have a genetic disposition to the chronic condition. Isla's sister Ruby, 7, was diagnosed with it 18 months ago and so was her half-brother at 11. Her mother Rachel Weldon said Isla's blood-work indicated she was at high risk. "It was a good insurance policy," she said about donating her children's cord blood into a private bank. "I'm glad we made the choice when they were born. With Ruby, we were just that little late, but we were fortunate with Isla to be able to go ahead with the study." The study itself has raised ethical questions concerning the use of cord blood in treatment and clinical trials. "We tried to involve public banks, but current legislation makes it extremely difficult," Professor Craig said about using the public blood for research purposes. "On the one hand, it's an altruistic donation, but it's also a life-saving treatment, so who is ultimately entitled to it?" Isla will be monitored every three to six months for three years. If she is able to continue producing insulin on her own, the treatment would have likely worked.

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