Our Science

Insulin is a hormone needed for glucose to enter the cells and be converted to energy.

There are two main types of diabetes. Type 1 diabetes occurs when the pancreas gland no longer produces the insulin needed. It is usually diagnosed in childhood or early adulthood and is one of the most common chronic childhood diseases in developed nations. The most common form of diabetes is Type 2. In Type 2 diabetes, the body either doesn’t produce enough insulin or the cells ignore the insulin produced. The buildup in glucose in the blood deprives the cells of energy and over time impacts eye, kidney, nerve or heart functioning.

Regular treatment usually consists of lifelong insulin injections every day, regular blood glucose level tests, healthy eating plans and physical activity.

LCT aims to treat Type 1 diabetes. Healthy islet cells are algae coated capsules and transplanted into the body to produce insulin and regulate blood glucose levels. The capsules ensure that the cells are not recognised as foreign by the patient, so no immunosuppressant drugs are needed.

• It is estimated that around 194 million people have diabetes in the adult population in the IDF Regions (an increase from the 1995 global estimation of 135 million published in a World Health Organization study in 1998)
• Type 1 diabetes represents 10 to 15% of all cases
• It is estimated that approximately 4.9 million people (in all age groups) have type 1 diabetes. The European region has the highest estimated number of people with type 1 diabetes (1.27 million), followed by the North American Region (1.04 million) and the South East Asian Region (0.91 million).
• Diabetes is Australia’s fastest growing chronic disease
• 520,000 Australians are diagnosed with diabetes. According to Diabetes Australia, for every one who knows they have it, another has it but doesn’t know
• The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 2.5 to 15% of annual health budgets are spent on diabetes-related illnesses
• A person with diabetes incurs medical costs that are two to five times higher than those of a person without diabetes. This is due to more frequent medical visits, purchase of supplies and medication, and the higher likelihood of being admitted to a hospital.

HD is caused by a defective gene and usually strikes between the ages of 30 and 45 although it may appear earlier or later. Every child of an HD parent has a 50 per cent risk of inheriting this genetic disease. There is a gradual physical, emotional and cognitive deterioration over 10 to 25 years, leading to total incapacitation and eventual death.

There is presently no known cure or effective treatment. Symptoms include involuntary jerking movements of the limbs, face and trunk; increasing difficulty with communication, swallowing and walking; problems with planning, organisation and initiating, as well as personality change.

LCT’s NTCell® treatment implants new choroid plexus cells (the cells that produce cerebral spinal fluid and a number of factors important for the health and survival of the brain) into the brain. The cells produce hormones (neurotrophins) to help protect and repair the brain from damage. Early results of pre-clinical studies have shown the ability of the technology to protect brain tissue that would otherwise die, potentially forestalling or even preventing the debilitating consequences of brain disease.

• Every person who inherits the HD gene will eventually develop the disease
• Approximately 30,000 Americans have HD and over 200,000 more are at risk of inheriting it from a parent
• Current estimates suggest 1 in every 10,000 people in the US have HD
• In Australia, 7 to 10 individuals per 100,000 people will be affected