Diabetes
Every patient in a small type 1 diabetes trial became insulin-free
It's the kind of result that makes you read the sentence twice: in a small pilot study, every single participant with type 1 diabetes stopped needing insulin.
At UChicago Medicine, 12 people with long-standing type 1 diabetes — a median of 33 years living with the condition — received transplants of insulin-producing islet cells from a donor pancreas. All 12 achieved insulin independence: they no longer needed injected or pumped insulin to manage their blood sugar.
The results went beyond simply stopping insulin. Every participant reached an HbA1c below 6.5% (a mean of about 5.4%, in the non-diabetic range), and none had a severe low-blood-sugar episode after the transplant — a striking change for a group who had all suffered dangerous hypos before.
Islet transplants aren't new; the obstacle has always been the powerful anti-rejection drugs needed to protect the graft, which can themselves harm the kidneys and the transplanted cells. This trial's twist was a new antibody called tegoprubart, which blocks an immune signal (CD40L) to prevent rejection without the usual toxic calcineurin inhibitors.
The honest caveats matter here. This is a tiny, early, investigator-led study with follow-up so far measured in months, not years — a median of eight. Islet transplants still require donor tissue and lifelong immune-suppressing medication, so this isn't a cure you can ask for at a clinic. But as proof that better anti-rejection tools could make cell-replacement therapy realistic, it's genuinely exciting — and it points toward the stem-cell islet work moving through trials behind it.
What the research says
In an investigator-initiated pilot study at UChicago Medicine, 12 people with type 1 diabetes (median duration 33 years) received donor islet cell transplants with the anti-CD40L antibody tegoprubart instead of standard calcineurin-inhibitor immunosuppression. All 12 achieved insulin independence and an HbA1c below 6.5% (mean about 5.4%), with no severe hypoglycaemic episodes after transplant, over a median follow-up of 8 months (maximum 22).
Breakthrough T1D / Eledon Pharmaceuticals · Pilot study update, 2026 ↗Frequently asked questions
Does this mean type 1 diabetes is cured?
Not yet. This was a small, early study, and islet transplantation still needs donor tissue and lifelong medication to stop the immune system rejecting the new cells. What's promising is the new anti-rejection antibody, which may make cell-replacement therapy safer and more durable — an important step, not a finished cure.
Who can get an islet transplant?
For now it's reserved for a small group — usually people with type 1 diabetes and severe, dangerous low-blood-sugar episodes that can't be controlled another way — and it's mostly done within clinical trials. The trade-off is swapping insulin for immune-suppressing drugs, which is why it isn't offered widely.
The information on this website is educational and is not medical advice. Please consult your doctor if you have any doubts or further questions.