The question is not only whether the drug will stop the rejection of transplanted islet cells but also whether it will stop the body from attacking the new cells. Where nondiabetics have an automatic system for sensing levels of glucose, or sugar, in the blood and delivering the appropriate amount of insulin, diabetics have to manage blood sugar on their own. Theirs is a life of following a strict regimen and constantly being aware of everything that affects blood sugar. Food pushes the sugar level up. Insulin or oral diabetes medication brings it down.
Stress drives it up.
Exercise can bring it down. Illness, even a slight cold, can send it up again. Most people cringe at the thought of giving themselves shots every day, but that is not what bothers Edgar, who was diagnosed so young she doesn't remember not having daily injections. Insulin is not a cure for diabetes, as many people think. Diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death in the United States.