In samples taken from living donors, 94 percent of the cells were viable for transplant, compared to only 42 percent of cells taken from deceased donors.

Islet cell transplantation is the only known cure for insulin-dependent diabetes, but there are simply not enough deceased donors available to meet the demand for islet cells, says study author Dr. Kwang-Won Kim. In fact, we sometimes require islet cells from two deceased donors to gather enough cells to treat one patient. Living donors would be able to provide many more healthy cells, since islet cells begin to deteriorate immediately after brain death.

Unfortunately, obtaining islet cells from living donors is not a risk-free procedure; donors may become susceptible to developing diabetes themselves. Obviously, more research is needed to determine the risk to donors and ensure their safety, but if a low-risk donation strategy could be established, living donors could dramatically improve the supply of islet cells for transplant, says Kim.

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When we corrected for the amount of muscle, we found that the obese person is not making as much bone as they should be for the amount of muscle that they have, Pollock said. People haven't observed that in the past because they weren't using the three-dimensional scan.

Lewis said the exact mechanisms by which excess fat hinders bone strength are unclear, but studies of obese rats show that they produce more fat cells in the bone marrow and fewer bone cells. Since fat and bone cells originate from the same precursor, it may be that fat cell production is favored over bone cell production in obese people.

The women the researchers studied were 18 and 19, an age at which the bones have stopped growing but before age-related degeneration begins. Lewis said future studies using three-dimensional bone imaging should follow children with normal and high levels of body fat through time to see how their skeletons grow. Other researchers have documented increased fractures in overweight children, suggesting that childhood obesity may be particularly detrimental to bone health.

When you're young you have the capacity to change the shape of your bones, but when you get older you don't have that capacity. Lewis said. And because of that, childhood obesity could have a significant, long lasting negative impact on the skeleton.

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