Articifial pancreas systems in testing
by david edelman - 05.15.06
i know that researchers have been working
on "closed-loop" insulin delivery systems,
but I didn't realize they were already
testing devices. A "closed-loop" insulin
delivery system continuously tests
someones blood sugar and increases or
decreases insulin dosage to match those
levels. And it works!
For decades, people with type-1 diabetes
have been hearing about the possibilities
of life with an artificial pancreas. Such
a device would include a glucose sensor
that would send warnings when blood
glucose was too low or too high, and then
it would alert an insulin pump - just like
the real pancreas - to deliver the
necessary amount of insulin.
That day may have finally arrived.
Several studies are under way on a variety
of technologies that mimic the pancreas,
which produces insulin that regulates
blood sugar. When blood glucose is too
high or too low, patients can develop
life-threatening complications.
Last month, the food and drug
administration approved the minimed
paradigm real-time insulin pump and
continuous glucose monitoring system,
which provides real-time, continuous
glucose monitoring.
It's a major advance for patients, but
they still have to control their own
insulin doses. Systems that 'close the
loop' are under study, said aaron
kowalski, director of strategic research
projects at the juvenile diabetes research
foundation.
Such systems would mimic a pancreas by
delivering insulin automatically in
response to a sensor that monitors blood
glucose. Such devices are about five
years away, kowalski said.
Drs. William tamborlane and stuart
weinzimer of yale university school of
medicine have recently tested an
artificial pancreas on 12 children with
type-1 diabetes. While the children were
monitored around the clock for 36 hours in
a hospital, their blood glucose levels
remained steady. The researchers hope to
test more children, in their homes.
The scientists said one of the major
surprises in the latest study of the
artificial pancreas was that the children
were so stable overnight. Weinzimer said
nighttime is often difficult for patients
and their families because if blood
glucose dips and the patient is sleeping,
the body doesn't send out distress
signals. During the day, patients are
routinely monitoring their blood glucose
levels and then figuring out what to eat
and when and how much insulin they need
throughout the day to keep the blood
sugars within normal range.
'it has changed our lives,' said leslie
burkhalter, whose 12-year-old daughter was
diagnosed with type-1 diabetes in 2004.
She is wearing yet another experimental
glucose sensing device called the
navigator, which is made by abbott
laboratories.
You can read more here. A true artificial
pancreas is not a cure, but it may turn
out to be the next best thing. But how
long will it be until they're reliable
enough to earn the your trust?
Source:
http://www.Diab
etesdaily.Com/content/2006/05/15/articifia
l-pancreas-systems-in-testing.Php
