Non-invasive Diagnostic Biomarker for Pancreatic Islet Populations

Unmet Need
Affecting more than 230 million people worldwide, diabetes is a chronic disease caused by a deficiency and/or resistance to insulin. Insulin production is controlled by the pancreas, specifically by the pancreatic islets, a region of the pancreas that contains the hormone-producing cells. The pancreatic islets are made up of at least 5 different types of cells, including Beta cells which produce insulin. Both type 1 and type 2 diabetes are characterized by a deficit of Beta cell mass, which is mainly determined by islet number. The pancreatic islets are arranged in density routes throughout the pancreas and research has suggested that islet density may play an important role in diabetes susceptibility. Islet loss is a primary characteristic of type 1 diabetes and impacts type 2 diabetes. As such, islet density could be used as a biomarker for disease progression. A non-invasive method to monitor pancreatic islet density would be a valuable tool for the diagnosis, monitoring and treatment of diabetes.
 
Technology Overview
Hopkins researchers used magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) to measure gamma-amino butyric acid (GABA) concentration in pancreatic islets. Using MRS to measure GABA is an established methodology carried out on common magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) equipment. MRS analyses will be paired with proprietary software which performs an integrated and automated quality check, resulting in a single value whose clinical relevance will be readily interpretable. Hopkins investigators applied this noninvasive MRS method to characterize pancreatic islet density as a novel diabetic biomarker.
 
Stage of Development
Data is available

Publications
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