GB919829A - An active composition with therapeutic power for diabetes mellitus and hypoglycemia and a method of preparation thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

Therapeutic compositions for the treatment of pancreatic diseases comprise active alpha or beta cells of the hangerhans islets of the pancrease of (i) a healthy, sexually immature vertebrate, (ii) the foetus of a healthy mother mammal; or (iii) the embryo of an egg of a healthy bird. Either the alpha or the beta cells may be in numerical excess or they may be numerically equal with one type of cell being in hyperactivity with respect to the other such hyperactivity being induced before removal of the pancreas e.g. in the case of (ii) above by inducing a pancreatic disease in the mother by Bernard's puncture or the administration of alloxan. The cells may be obtained from the pancreas by mechanical disintegration followed by digestion with trypsin to give a suspension of living cells from which at least some of one type of cell may be removed, e.g. by filtration or centrifugation particularly if the alpha and beta cells are of different sizes as is preferred and is so in the case of ducks (large alpha cells) and rodents (large beta cells). The free cells obtained may be suspended in a suitable parenterally administrable vehicle e.g. sterile Ringer's solution or preserved e.g. by freeze drying for subsequent administration either after re-suspension e.g. in sterile isotonic saline or encapsulation of the dried product. Specification 887,228 is referred to.