Study backs pancreas cell transplants for severe diabetes

Transplants of insulin-producing pancreas cells are a long hoped-for treatment for diabetes — and a new study shows they can protect the most seriously ill patients from a life-threatening complication of the disease, an important step toward U.S. approval. These transplants are used in some countries but in the U.S. they're available only through research studies. Armed with Monday's findings, researchers hope to license them for use in a small number of people with Type 1 diabetes who are most at risk for drops in blood sugar so severe they can lead to seizures, even death. "Cell-based diabetes therapy is real and works and offers tremendous potential...