Palm Tree Hammock • @1MEMO_20260803 • Michel van der Burg • Miracles•Media • Small Hope Bay Lodge, Andros , Bahamas, Caribbean, Oct 1996. . TakeNode bd07619e-9277-4ade-a4ab-ddae1a271235
4th IPITA , Amsterdam, 1993 • Michel van der Burg • Miracles•Media • 1MEMO_20260201_11 • TakeNode 1c776460-e3a6-46df-8b8b-f43f30517021
Slideshow (handout slides, partially remastered) of my talk titled ‘Assessment of islet isolation efficacy in dogs’ presented at the 4th International Congress on Pancreas and Islet Transplantation (4th IPITA), Amsterdam (The Netherlands) June 27–30, 1993 • Michel van der Burg • Miracles•Media • 1MEMO_20260201_1 • TakeNode 628b273c-b8e1-4e23-8f8b-1550c7960cb3 • PDF available below.
Text of talk ‘Assessment of islet isolation efficacy in dogs’ presented at the 4th International Congress on Pancreas and Islet Transplantation (4th IPITA), Amsterdam (The Netherlands) June 27–30, 1993 • Michel van der Burg • Miracles•Media • 1MEMO_20260201_12 • TakeNode 9bc525ba-dfdb-4d92-8af4-bdd21ee1faaf • PDF available below.
The proceedings paper delivered at the 4th IPITA is included below in the Notes , as well as references of the related full papers and related chapters of PhD thesis.
This IPITA meeting in Amsterdam was also a good opportunity to catch up with colleague Nick London (see photo) from the Leicester (UK) group discussing our Leiden and Leicester islet isolation work using the University of Wisconsin organ preservation solution (UWS). The Leicester group were one of the first groups to examine and adopt our novel method of islet isolation in UWS.
Several groups reported at this 4th IPITA symposium on the effects of using (modified) UW solution (UWS) during islet isolation : Leicester (pig, human islets), Oxford (rat, rabbit islets), Minneapolis (human islets), Paris, and Giessen (clinical human allo islet transplantation).
Michel van der Burg (Leiden) and Nick London (Leicester) • 4th IPITA , Amsterdam (The Netherlands) June 27–30, 1993 • Photo by Matthias Ohimer , Michel van der Burg • Miracles•Media • @1MEMO_20260201_3 • TakeNode c4451ac4-84fc-4068-823a-b475dc0bb35e • #islets #LUMC #transplant #IPITA #diabetes #Amsterdam #Leicester #Leiden
During the 4th IPITA I discussed in detail the rationale of our UWS work, the important components of UWS, and basal solution for islet purification (Percoll-UWS) with Yoko Mullen (in particular) and her co-worker Charles Brunicardi (see photo) of the UCLA Islet Transplant Team (LA, USA)…contributing to the development of Yoko’s Los Angeles preservation solution #1 (LAP-1) patented in 1997 (see Notes, US5679565A).
Michel van der Burg (Leiden), Charles Brunicardi (LA), and (? Norm Kneteman, Edmonton) • 4th IPITA , Amsterdam (The Netherlands) June 27–30, 1993 • Photo by Matthias Ohimer , Michel van der Burg • Miracles•Media • @1MEMO_20260201_4 • TakeNode 93930fd4-ee21-4b18-90ca-83e1731102e1 • #islets #LUMC #transplant #IPITA #diabetes #Amsterdam #Leiden #LosAngeles #LA #Edmonton
The official founding meeting of the IPITA was actually at this 4th International Congress on Pancreas and Islet Transplantation — June 27–30, 1993 in Amsterdam (The Netherlands) hosted by Dr. Reinout van Schilfgaarde (see photo).
Reinout van Schilfgaarde (Groningen) • 4th IPITA , Amsterdam (The Netherlands) June 27–30, 1993 • Photo by Matthias Ohimer , Michel van der Burg • Miracles•Media • @1MEMO_20260201_5 • TakeNode 9a713895-1dc6-462a-9621-1160ddeb2d8e • #islets #LUMC #transplant #IPITA #diabetes #Amsterdam #Leiden
Below some of the photos I took during a break at the 4th IPITA in Amsterdam, near the Rijksmuseum (corner Spiegelgracht / Tweede Weteringdwarsstraat) , and at the congress venue (RAI Amsterdam).
Garth Warnock (Edmonton), Bernhard Hering (Giessen), Nick London (Leicester) • 4th IPITA , Amsterdam (The Netherlands) June 27–30, 1993 • Photo by Michel van der Burg • Miracles•Media • @1MEMO_20260201_6 • TakeNode 4a31bed0-8308-4a51-9291-06d53549ef3d • #islets #LUMC #transplant #IPITA #diabetes #Amsterdam #Leiden #Edmonton #Giessen #LeicesterGarth Warnock (Edmonton), Bernhard Hering (Giessen), Nick London (Leicester) • 4th IPITA , Amsterdam (The Netherlands) June 27–30, 1993 • Photo by Michel van der Burg • Miracles•Media • @1MEMO_20260201_7 • TakeNode ea3824e8-23da-4cbb-aeaa-04cbc1903c2b • #IPITA #Amsterdam #islets #LUMC #transplant #diabetes #Leiden #Edmonton #Giessen #LeicesterGarth Warnock (Edmonton), Bernhard Hering (Giessen) • 4th IPITA , Amsterdam (The Netherlands) June 27–30, 1993 • Photo by Michel van der Burg • Miracles•Media • @1MEMO_20260201_8 • TakeNode ffbe0d97-be31-4dc9-bc94-9e2b708ccb47 • #IPITA #Amsterdam #islets #LUMC #transplant #diabetes #Edmonton #Giessen #LeidenJane Field (Minneapolis) • 4th IPITA , Amsterdam (The Netherlands) June 27–30, 1993 • Photo by Michel van der Burg • Miracles•Media • @1MEMO_20260201_9 • TakeNode d1921eb6-2c38-49c2-9693-d288d940268d • #IPITA #Amsterdam #islets #LUMC #transplant #diabetes #Minneapolis #Leiden
Notes
Oral presentation 4th IPITA : Van der Burg MPM, Guicherit OR, Frölich M, Scherft JP, Prins FA, Bruijn JA, Gooszen HG. Assessment of islet isolation efficacy in dogs. 4th International Congress on Pancreas and Islet Transplantation, Amsterdam (The Netherlands) June 27–30, 1993.
Oral presentation (selection of slides Assessment of islet isolation efficacy in dogs). Van der Burg MPM. Workshop: Guidelines for the standardized assessment of retrieval and transplantation of islets. 4th International Congress on Pancreas and Islet Transplantation, Amsterdam (The Netherlands) June 27–30, 1993.
Proceedings paper 4th IPITA : Van der Burg MPM, Guicherit OR, Frölich M, Scherft JP, Prins FA, Bruijn JA, Gooszen HG. Morphometry of native and isolated islets: a new approach to isolation assessment. Transplant Proc. 1994 Apr;26(2):632-3. PMID: 7513459 . PDF available below
This slideshow had been presented earlier that year with a different title at the 12th Workshop of the AIDSPIT Study Group in Igls :
Oral presentation 12th AIDSPIT : Van der Burg MPM, Guicherit OR, Frölich M, Scherft JP, Bruijn JA, Prins FA, Gooszen HG. Quantification of islet isolation efficiency in dogs. 12th Workshop of the AIDSPIT Study Group of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes, Igls (Austria) January 24–26, 1993.
Title Slide (remastered) 12th AIDSPIT, Igls (Austria), 1993 • Michel van der Burg • Miracles•Media • 1MEMO_20260201_2 • TakeNode 2cfe23eb-cbb0-4942-afcb-56755ebcb467
Abstract 12th AIDSPIT : Van der Burg MPM, Guicherit OR, Frölich M, Scherft JP, Bruijn JA, Prins FA, Gooszen HG. Quantification of islet isolation efficiency in dogs (Abstract). Horm Metab Res 1993; 25: 52. 1MEMO_20260201_10 PDF available below.
Van der Burg MPM, Guicherit OR, Frölich M, Scherft JP, Bruijn JA, Gooszen HG. Impact of donor-related variables on islet isolation outcome in dogs. Diabetologia. 1994 Jan;37(1):111-4. doi: 10.1007/BF00428786. PMID: 8150223 . Article PDF free download
Van der Burg MPM, Guicherit OR, Frölich M, Scherft JP, Prins FA, Bruijn JA, Gooszen HG. Assessment of islet isolation efficacy in dogs. Cell Transplant. 1994 Jan-Feb;3(1):91-101. doi: 10.1177/096368979400300113. PMID: 8162296
Chapters (2,3) Doctoral Thesis (corresponding with full papers) : Van der Burg MPM. Pancreatic islet transplantation: studies on the technique and efficacy of islet isolation and transplantation. (Doctoral Thesis, Leiden University, 1994), Paperback (1994, Nov 9) Boskoop: Van der Burg (ISBN 9080216410); E-book (2022, Oct 25) Boskoop: Michel van der Burg | Miracles•Media ( ISBN 9789080216402). Retrieved (Dec 4th, 2025) from Leiden University Scholarly Publications, Persistent URL https://hdl.handle.net/1887/3486604 . PDF available via link.
Citation info : Islet Isolation Assessment • 4th IPITA Amsterdam 1993 • Michel van der Burg • Miracles•Media • @1MEMO 20260201 • URL https://michelvanderburg.com/2026/02/01
Traditional daily fruit and flower market at the Piazza delle Erbe (‘Harvest market place’) in Bolzano (Bozen), South-Tyrol, Italy, close to the central square , the Piazza Walther (Walther Platz) on the Via Tirolensis, the Tyrolean section of the Via Romea Germanica pilgrimage route, December 30, 2025.
Notes
Via Romea Germanica pilgrimage route, from Stade near Hamburg in Germany to Rome, Italy. South-Tyrolean section in Italy of the Via Romea.
Citation info : Bolzano HotDog • Via Romea #15 • Michel van der Burg • Miracles•Media • @1MEMO 20260128 • TakeNode df9086f2-6a70-43aa-9270-1944027e3f54
Glycemic control mechanisms after canine islet autografting • IPITA 1995 • Michel van der Burg • Miracles.Media • @1MEMO 20251204_1 • Talk, Tuesday June 20, 1995 at 10:30, 5th IPITA, Eden Roc Resort Hotel, Miami Beach, FL (USA) • Digitally remastered by author, publisher, Michel van der Burg • TakeNode 5227c200-e029-4406-b344-15350fe3b93d • #GLP1 #GIP #diabetes #islets #transplant
Pioneer work on GLP-1 and GIP incretin hormones
Slideshow (digitally remastered) of my talk Tuesday June 20, 1995 at 10:30, at the 5th International Congress on Pancreas and Islet Transplantation (IPITA), in Miami Beach, FL (USA). My first talk at a world congress presenting the outcome of all our detailed metabolic studies in our preclinical model of canine islet autotransplantation , including our pioneer work on the incretin effects of the gut hormones GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1) and GIP (Glucose-dependent Insulinotropic Polypeptide) — now, in 2025, well-known from the drugs that mimic the action of these natural hormones, to treat type 2 diabetes and obesity, by stimulating insulin release, improving blood sugar control, and reducing appetite.
May 1992 we were the first to show direct potentiation of the insulin response from isolated islets by (near-)physiological doses of both the gut hormones GLP-1 and GIP during perifusion (in vitro) of canine islets at 7.5-10 mM glucose levels (1,2), and January 1994 we next confirmed the incretin effect of a (near-)physiological dose of GLP-1 after canine islet transplantation , in a poster presented at the 13th Workshop of the AIDSPIT (aka AIDPIT) Study Group , Igls, Austria, January 23–25, 1994 (3).
Background of the work was posted earlier this year (4) and the work was published Nov 1994 in my PhD thesis Pancreatic islet transplantation , available online (5).
Welcome Reception 5th IPITA on Sunday 18 June 1995, at the congress venue , the Eden Roc Resort Hotel, in Miami Beach, FL (USA) • Michel van der Burg • Miracles.Media • @1MEMO 20251204_2 • TakeNode 8eb04df1-8280-4de3-a206-4b63413c3025
June 1995, 5th IPITA Talk
Tuesday June 20, 1995 at 10:30, at the 5th International Congress on Pancreas and Islet Transplantation (IPITA), in Miami Beach, FL (USA), was my first talk at a world congress presenting the outcome of all our detailed metabolic studies in the canine islet transplants , including the incretin effect of GLP-1, and also our findings with isolated canine islets during perifusion, in vitro, of the direct insulinotropic effects of the gut hormones GIP and GLP-1 (6) . That slideshow presentation (digitally remastered*) is posted here (1MEMO 20251204_1).
The proceedings paper delivered at the 5th IPITA is included in the Notes (7) , as well as the referenced previous papers (8,9)
Notes
1. Van der Burg MPM, Guicherit OR, Scherft JP, Frölich M, Terpstra JL, Gooszen HG. Functie na intralienale transplantatie van eilandjes van Langerhans in de hond ( Function after intrasplenic transplantation of islets of Langerhans in dogs ). Surgeon days ’92 of the Dutch Surgery Society, Rotterdam (The Netherlands) May 21–22, 1992. In : Gut factors controlling pancreatic islets • 20240910 • Michel van der Burg • michelvanderburg•com • URL https://michelvanderburg.com/2024/09/10/gut-factors-controlling-pancreatic-islets-20240910/
2. Van der Burg MPM, Guicherit OR, Frölich M, Gooszen HG. Insulinotropic effects of cholecystokinin, gastric inhibitory polypeptide and glucagon-like peptide-1 during perifusion of short-term cultured canine isolated islets. Regul Pept. 1995 Dec 7;60(1):61-7. doi: 10.1016/0167-0115(95)00122-4. PMID: 8747785.
3. Metabolic control after canine islet transplantation. M.P.M. van der Burg, P.T.R. van Suylichem, O.R. Guicherit, J.H.M. van Deijnen, M. Frölich, and H.G. Gooszen (Universities of Leiden & Groningen, The Netherlands). Poster presented at the 13th Workshop of the AIDSPIT Study Group , Igls, Austria, January 23–25, 1994 • In : GLP-1 blood sugar regulation in islet transplants • AIDSPIT 1994 • Michel van der Burg • Miracles.Media • @1MEMO 20251114 • TakeNode 810cc881-d084-4d2e-b252-d432918b1946 • URL https://michelvanderburg.com/2025/11/14
5. Van der Burg MPM. Pancreatic islet transplantation: studies on the technique and efficacy of islet isolation and transplantation. (Doctoral Thesis, Leiden University, 1994), Paperback (1994, Nov 9) Boskoop: Van der Burg (ISBN 9080216410); E-book (2022, Oct 25) Boskoop: Michel van der Burg | Miracles•Media ( ISBN 9789080216402). Retrieved (Dec 4th, 2025) from Leiden University Scholarly Publications, Persistent URL https://hdl.handle.net/1887/3486604 .
6. Oral presentation : Van der Burg MPM, Van Suylichem PTR, Guicherit OR, Frölich M, Lemkes HHPJ, Gooszen HG. Glycemic control mechanisms after canine islet autografting. 5th International Congress on Pancreas and Islet Transplantation (IPITA), Miami Beach (USA) June 20, 1995.
7. 5th IPITA Proceedings publication : Van der Burg MPM, Van Suylichem PTR, Guicherit OR, Frölich M, Lemkes HHPJ, Gooszen HG. Glycemic control mechanisms after canine islet autografting. Transplant Proc. 1995 Dec;27(6):3187-8. PMID: 8539903. PDF available below PMID_8539903
8. Van der Burg MPM, Gooszen HG. The metabolic efficiency of islet grafts: an overview. In: Islet transplantation — current status of clinical application and experimental results. Hesse UJ , Pichlmaier H, Eds., Lengerich Germany, Wolfgang Pabst Verlag, 1992, p.93–99. Pabst hash code 0383b3abad3ae774b146ea0425c2227a PDF available below 1MEMO_20251204_4
9. Van der Burg MPM, Guicherit OR, Scherft JP, Lemkes HHPJ, Frölich M, Gooszen HG. Postprandial performance after canine islet transplantation: the importance of gut factors (Abstract). Neth J Med 1992; 41: A25. PDF available below 1MEMO_20251204_3
10. Van der Burg MPM, Guicherit OR, Van Suylichem PTR, Frölich M, Van Deijnen JHM, Gooszen HG. Importance of the entero-insular axis for islet graft function (Abstract). Cell Transplant 1994; 3: 257. Abstract – Second International Congress of the Cell Transplant Society May 1–4, 1994 Hyatt Regency Hotel • Minneapolis, Minnesota . https://doi.org/10.1177/096368979400300302 (Abstracts published , posters not presented). PDF available below 10.1177_096368979400300302
11. Chapter 8, Doctoral Thesis, Leiden University, November 1994 : Metabolic control after intrasplenic islet autotransplantation in dogs: ß-cell secretory capacity, insulin action, and the enteroinsular axis. Michael P.M. van der Burg, Paul T.R. van Suylichem, Onna R. Guicherit, Marijke Frölich, Herman H.P.J. Lemkes, and Hein G. Gooszen. In : Van der Burg MPM. Pancreatic islet transplantation: studies on the technique and efficacy of islet isolation and transplantation ( Chapter 8). (Doctoral Thesis, Leiden University, 1994), Paperback (1994, Nov 9) Boskoop: Van der Burg (ISBN 9080216410); E-book (2022, Oct 25) Boskoop: Michel van der Burg | Miracles•Media ( ISBN 9789080216402). Retrieved (Nov 24th, 2025) from Leiden University Scholarly Publications, Persistent URL https://hdl.handle.net/1887/3486604 . Direct link to file Chapter 8 , URL https://scholarlypublications.universiteitleiden.nl/access/item%3A3486615/view .
12. Doctoral Thesis, Leiden University, November 1994 (Chapter 6) : lnsulinotropic properties of cholecystokinin, gastric inhibitory polypeptide, and glucagon-like peptide-1 during perifusion of short-term cultured canine isolated islets. Michael P.M. van der Burg, Onna R. Guicherit, Marijke Frölich and Hein G. Gooszen. In : Van der Burg MPM. Pancreatic islet transplantation: studies on the technique and efficacy of islet isolation and transplantation ( Chapter 6). (Doctoral Thesis, Leiden University, 1994), Paperback (1994, Nov 9) Boskoop: Van der Burg (ISBN 9080216410); E-book (2022, Oct 25) Boskoop: Michel van der Burg | Miracles•Media ( ISBN 9789080216402). Retrieved (Nov 24th, 2025) from Leiden University Scholarly Publications, Persistent URL https://hdl.handle.net/1887/3486604 . Direct link to file Chapter 6 , URL https://scholarlypublications.universiteitleiden.nl/access/item%3A3486613/view
Full papers
13. Van der Burg MPM, Guicherit OR, Frölich M, Gooszen HG. Insulinotropic effects of cholecystokinin, gastric inhibitory polypeptide and glucagon-like peptide-1 during perifusion of short-term cultured canine isolated islets. Regul Pept. 1995 Dec 7;60(1):61-7. doi: 10.1016/0167-0115(95)00122-4. PMID: 8747785.
14. Van der Burg MPM, Van Suylichem PTR, Guicherit OR, Frölich M, Lemkes HHPJ, Gooszen HG. Glucoregulation after canine islet transplantation: contribution of insulin secretory capacity, insulin action, and the entero-insular axis. Cell Transplant. 1997 Sep-Oct;6(5):497-503. doi: 10.1177/096368979700600509. PMID: 9331501. PDF link https://pure.rug.nl/ws/portalfiles/portal/58359942/096368979700600509.pdf
* 1MEMO 20251204_1 . Digitally remastered presentation, using the images from the original slides handout, and the handout of the text spoken during the original presentation , now read using my personal synthesized voice.
#GLP1 #GIP #diabetes #islets #transplant
Citation info : Glycemic control mechanisms after canine islet autografting • IPITA 1995 • Michel van der Burg • Miracles.Media • @1MEMO 20251204 • URL https://michelvanderburg.com/2025/12/04
Big surprise today , to encounter this nice news article by journalist Rob van Dijk reporting on our pancreatic islet transplantation breakthrough in the Leiden University Hospital (now LUMC) in the Amsterdam based Dutch national newspaper Parool , Saturday 6 January 1990 (1).
I was searching actually for a better copy of a different news article I have archived on my clinical islet transplantation work (Newspaper Volkskrant 10 April 1999) in the Delpher archive of the National Library of the Netherlands , scrolling the search results, and noticed this Parool article – I didn’t know it existed ;)
Journalist Rob van Dijk did not interview me for the Parool, so I assume his source was the interview I gave for publication in Cicero, the biweekly LUMC publication, and the Dutch newspaper ‘Leidsch Dagblad’, and posted a year ago (2).
The articles reports (my translation from dutch*) :
Transplantation
Islet transplantation has been possible for a few years now, but it doesn’t (yet?) work in humans. The technique itself isn’t that complicated: as many islets of Langerhans as possible are extracted from a pancreas, injected into the diabetic patient’s liver or spleen, and thus, start producing insulin. However, that “thus” is still a bit tricky… …
The major problems lie in the fact that the yield of properly functioning islets is too small (at least 30 percent of the islets must be obtained undamaged to achieve sufficient insulin production after a transplant) and that the suspensions are too impure. Nevertheless, progress is being made.
The best news comes from Leiden University Hospital. There, biologist M. van der Burg, MSc has developed a method to isolate a very high and pure yield of islets from a dog’s pancreas. Van der Burg succeeded in isolating 40 percent of the vital islets from a dog’s pancreas. Through special processing, he was able to completely purify these cell clumps of 90 percent of excess and complicating pancreatic tissue. These islets were injected into the spleen of the same dog, where they produced sufficient insulin. This initial experiment has since been repeated in Leiden with several dogs with the same success. However, major challenges remain, not the least of which is the rejection problem. The Leiden experiments used the dog’s own tissue. The big question remains how the human immune system reacts when islets from a donor are injected.
*NL (dutch) quote :
Transplantatie
Sinds een paar jaar is eilandjestransplantatie wel mogelijk, alleen, bij de mens werkt het (nog?) niet. De techniek is op zichzelf niet zo ingewikkeld: men haalt zoveel mogelijk eilandjes van Langerhans uit een pancreas, spuit die bij de suikerzieke in lever of milt in en dan gaan ze dus insuline maken. Met dat ‘dus’ ligt het echter nog moeilijk… …
De grote problemen schuilen hem erin dat de oogst aan goed werkende eilandjes te gering is (men moet ten minste 30 procent van de eilandjes onbeschadigd te pakken krijgen om na een transplantatie voldoende insulineproduktie te verkrijgen) en dat de suspensies te onzuiver zijn. Toch zit er schot in.
Het beste nieuws komt uit het academisch ziekenhuis te Leiden. Daar heeft de bioloog drs. M. van der Burg een methode ontwikkeld om uit een hondepancreas een zeer hoge en zuivere oogst aan eilandjes te isoleren. Van der Burg slaagde erin uit de alvleesklier van een hond 40 procent van de vitale eilandjes te isoleren, door een speciale bewerking kon hij deze celklompjes voor 90 procent absoluut zuiveren van overbodig en complicerend pancreasweefsel. Deze eilandjes werden ingespoten in de milt van dezelfde hond en produceren daar voldoende insuline. Dit eerste experiment is in Leiden intussen met meerdere honden met hetzelfde succes herhaald. Maar er zijn nog grote problemen op te lossen en bepaald niet het geringste daarvan is dat van de afstoting. Bij de Leidse experimenten werd gebruik gemaakt van eigen weefsel van de hond. De grote vraag blijft hoe het immuunsysteem van de mens reageert als er eilandjes van een donor worden ingespoten.
Citation info : Islet Transplantation LUMC News Surprise • Michel van der Burg • Miracles.Media • @1MEMO 20251020 • URL michelvanderburg.com/2025/10/20/
Big surprise today , to encounter this nice news article by journalist Rob van Dijk reporting on our pancreatic islet transplantation breakthrough in the Leiden University Hospital (now LUMC) in the Amsterdam based Dutch national newspaper Parool , Saturday 6 January 1990 (1).
I was searching actually for a better copy of a different news article I have archived on my clinical islet transplantation work (Newspaper Volkskrant 10 April 1999) in the Delpher archive of the National Library of the Netherlands , scrolling the search results, and noticed this Parool article – I didn’t know it existed ;)
Journalist Rob van Dijk did not interview me for the Parool, so I assume his source was the interview I gave for publication in Cicero, the biweekly LUMC publication, and the Dutch newspaper ‘Leidsch Dagblad’, and posted a year ago (2).
The articles reports (my translation from dutch*) :
Transplantation
Islet transplantation has been possible for a few years now, but it doesn’t (yet?) work in humans. The technique itself isn’t that complicated: as many islets of Langerhans as possible are extracted from a pancreas, injected into the diabetic patient’s liver or spleen, and thus, start producing insulin. However, that “thus” is still a bit tricky… …
The major problems lie in the fact that the yield of properly functioning islets is too small (at least 30 percent of the islets must be obtained undamaged to achieve sufficient insulin production after a transplant) and that the suspensions are too impure. Nevertheless, progress is being made.
The best news comes from Leiden University Hospital. There, biologist M. van der Burg, MSc has developed a method to isolate a very high and pure yield of islets from a dog’s pancreas. Van der Burg succeeded in isolating 40 percent of the vital islets from a dog’s pancreas. Through special processing, he was able to completely purify these cell clumps of 90 percent of excess and complicating pancreatic tissue. These islets were injected into the spleen of the same dog, where they produced sufficient insulin. This initial experiment has since been repeated in Leiden with several dogs with the same success. However, major challenges remain, not the least of which is the rejection problem. The Leiden experiments used the dog’s own tissue. The big question remains how the human immune system reacts when islets from a donor are injected.
*NL (dutch) quote :
Transplantatie
Sinds een paar jaar is eilandjestransplantatie wel mogelijk, alleen, bij de mens werkt het (nog?) niet. De techniek is op zichzelf niet zo ingewikkeld: men haalt zoveel mogelijk eilandjes van Langerhans uit een pancreas, spuit die bij de suikerzieke in lever of milt in en dan gaan ze dus insuline maken. Met dat ‘dus’ ligt het echter nog moeilijk… …
De grote problemen schuilen hem erin dat de oogst aan goed werkende eilandjes te gering is (men moet ten minste 30 procent van de eilandjes onbeschadigd te pakken krijgen om na een transplantatie voldoende insulineproduktie te verkrijgen) en dat de suspensies te onzuiver zijn. Toch zit er schot in.
Het beste nieuws komt uit het academisch ziekenhuis te Leiden. Daar heeft de bioloog drs. M. van der Burg een methode ontwikkeld om uit een hondepancreas een zeer hoge en zuivere oogst aan eilandjes te isoleren. Van der Burg slaagde erin uit de alvleesklier van een hond 40 procent van de vitale eilandjes te isoleren, door een speciale bewerking kon hij deze celklompjes voor 90 procent absoluut zuiveren van overbodig en complicerend pancreasweefsel. Deze eilandjes werden ingespoten in de milt van dezelfde hond en produceren daar voldoende insuline. Dit eerste experiment is in Leiden intussen met meerdere honden met hetzelfde succes herhaald. Maar er zijn nog grote problemen op te lossen en bepaald niet het geringste daarvan is dat van de afstoting. Bij de Leidse experimenten werd gebruik gemaakt van eigen weefsel van de hond. De grote vraag blijft hoe het immuunsysteem van de mens reageert als er eilandjes van een donor worden ingespoten.
Citation info : Islet Transplantation LUMC News Surprise • Michel van der Burg • Miracles.Media • @1MEMO 20251020 • URL michelvanderburg.com/2025/10/20/