Journal Watch: Our experts highlight the most important research articles across the spectrum of topics relevant to the field of diabetes management

The aim of this study was to assess pancreatic b cell mass and function in Type 2 diabetics. The authors obtained pancreases from heart-beating organ donors, including ten nondiabetics (five males and f ive females at an average age of 68 years) and ten diabetics (four males and six females with a mean age of 65). Pancreatic islet mass was analyzed by immunocytochemistry and electron microscopy and islet functions were examined by glucose-stimulated insulin secretion ana lysis. The major findings from this study are the followings: insulin-positive area was significantly lower (54.9 ± 6.3% vs 72.1 ± 8.7%) between diabetic and nondiabetic groups; the proportion of b cells was decreased by only 10% (p = 0.051) in the diabetics compared with the nondiabetics, but the diabetics had fewer insulin granules per b cell (3.1 ± 0.2% vs 5.6 ± 0.3%); and glucose-stimulated insulin secretion was decreased 40–50% in the diabetic islets as compared with the nondiabetic islets. From these data, it was concluded that at least in subgroups of Type 2 diabetics the loss of pancreatic b cells might be over estimated.