Adult liver cells can be redirected to produce insulin in response to glucose levels, according to the results of an Israeli study released last week.
The scientists at Tel Aviv's Sheba Medical Center have successfully modified liver cells to produce insulin that, when transplanted into mice, brought diabetes under control. The researchers hope that one day the method will allow the use of a diabetes patient's own liver cells to treat their condition.
'This approach may overcome the shortage in tissue availability from cadaver donors and the need for lifelong immune suppression,' said the director of the study, Dr. Sarah Ferber from The Endocrine Institute, at Sheba. The study was published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
But the latest out of Saudi Arabia shows startling breakthroughs in Arab medicine:
The following are excerpts from an interview with Dr. Ibrahim 'Abd Al-Karim Al-'Arifi, a urologist in the King Fahd Military Hospital in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, which aired on Qatar TV on May 23, 2005.
Host: Let's talk about the medical treatments for impotence and about other methods that are popular, especially among young people. [...]
Al-'Arifi:In ancient Islamic medicine, there's some kind of lizard called Sagangor.
Host: Sagangor?
Al-'Arifi: Yes. This is a lizard-like animal, a reptile that can be found in the Al-Nufudh and Al-Rub' Al-Khali areas. This animal is mentioned in many books, and a colleague of mine even studied this matter. You take the tissue surrounding its kidney, dry it, grind it up, and give it to the man. This strengthens his erection.
Host: This still needs to be researched scientifically.
Al-'Arifi: A colleague of mine wants to conduct such a study, but we've found references in several medical books by the greatest ancient Muslim doctors.