Clinical Specialties
Islet Cell Transplantation

Research
Advancement of islet cell transplantation for the treatment of type 1 diabetes and chronic pancratitis. The projects include improvements to the method he developed to isolate islet cells; investigation of alternative sites of implantation; expansion of adult-derived pancreatic duct cells into insulin producing cells; research into the cryopreservation of organs; and development of culture media and methods to store organs to promote oxygen diffusion.

Selected Publications

• Rodriguez-Rilo HL, Carroll PB, Zeng YJ, Fontes P, Demetris J, Ricordi C.  Acceleration of  chronic failure of intrahepatic canine islet autografts by a short course of prednisone.  Transplantation 57: 181-187, 1994.

• Conrad B,Weidmann E, Trucco G,Rudert WA,Behboo R, Ricordi C, Rilo HLR, Finegold D, Trucco M. Evidence for superantigen involvement in insulin - dependent diabetes mellitus etiology. Nature 371: 351-355, 1994.

• Carroll PB,Rilo HLR, Alejandro R, Zeng Y J, Khan R, Fontes P, Tzakis A, Carr B, Ricordi C.  Long term (> 3 years) insulin independence in a patient with pancreatic islet cell transplantation following upper abdominal exenteration and liver replacement for fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma. Transplantation 59: 875-879, 1995.

• Rilo HLR, Carroll PB, Shapiro R, Jordan M, Scantlebury V, Rastellini C, Fontes P, Alejandro R, Mintz DH, Fung JJ, Ricordi C, Starzl TE, Rao AS.  Human islet transplantation:  Results of the first 37 patients.  Transplantation Proceedings 27: 3162-3163, 1995.

• Maghasi AT, Schlueter, KT, Halsall HB, Heineman WR, Rodriguez Rilo HL. Development and Characterization of Simulant Pancreatic Islets. Analytical Biochemistry  314(1):38-45, 2003.

• Rodriguez Rilo HL, SA Ahmad, D Dalessio, Y Iwanaga, J. Kim, K Choe, J Moulton, J Martin , L Pennington,S Martin, C Ulrich, L Somogyi, J Welge, JB Matthews,  AM Lowy. Total pancreatectomy and autologous islet cell transplantation as a means to treat severe chronic pancreatitis. Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery 7:978-989. 2003

• Maghasi A, Halsall B, Heineman W, Rodriguez Rilo HL. Detection of secretion from pancreatic islets using chemically modified electrodes. Analytical Biochemistry 326:183-189, 2004.

• Wray CJ, Ahmad SA, Lowy A M. D’Alessio DA, Somogyi L, Choe KA, Soldano Jeffrey B. Matthews and Rodriguez Rilo HL Clinical Significance of Bacterial Cultures from 28 Autologous Islet Cell Transplantation Solutions, Pancreatology 6(5): 562-9, 2005.

• Ahamd SA, Lowy AM, Wray CJ, D’Alessio D, Choe KA, James LE, Gelrud A, Matthews JB, Rilo HL. Factors associated with insulin and narcotic independence after islet autotransplantation in patients with severe chronic pancreatitis. Journal of American College of Surgeons 201(5); 680-7, 2005.

• Ahmed SA, Wray, Rilo HL, Choe KA, Gelrud A, Howington JA, Lowy AM, Matthews JB, Chronic Pancreatitis; recent advances and on-going challenges. Current Problems in Surgery 43 (3); 127-238, 2006.