Artificial Pancreas Aids Type 1 Diabetes Patients

One problem facing type 1 diabetics is hypoglycemia; a condition in which blood sugar drops to dangerously low levels after the use of insulin.
 
Researchers at the University of Cambridge have developed a device that can simultaneously monitor and automatically pump an appropriate amount of insulin into the blood stream overnight in patients, according to a report published on Friday in the British medical journal Lancet.
 
Type 1 diabetics must use insulin; however, it is difficult for patients to know the exact dosage they need.  When too much of insulin is used, blood sugar drops quickly, potentially leading to hypoglycemia.
 
The device, which has been referred to as an artificial pancreas, can calculate the appropriate amount of insulin to deliver based on real time blood sugar readings.
 
Dr Roman Hovorka and colleagues of the Institute of Metabolic Science at the University tested the artificial pancreas in 17 children and teenagers between the ages 5 and 18 with type 1 diabetes. The children were monitored for 54 nights in a hospital to determine how well the system could measure controlled glucose levels compared to the children's regular continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion pump.
 
The researchers tested the system on nights when the subjects went to bed after eating a large dinner or after having participated in early evening or late afternoon exercise - both of which would raise risk of hypoglycemia.
 
The artificial pancreas kept blood sugar levels normal for 60 percent of the time, compared to 40 percent for the conventional insulin pump.
 
Additionally, the artificial pancreas cut by half the time that blood sugar fell below 3.9 mmol/L- a level defined as mild hypoglycemia.
 
The artificial pancreas did not cause blood sugar to fall below 3.0 mmol/L, which is defined as significant hypoglycemia while the conventional insulin pump resulted in nine hypoglycemia events during the study.
 
Dr. Hovorka said "Our results show that commercially-available devices, when coupled with the algorithm we developed, can improve glucose control in children and significantly reduce the risk of hypos overnight."
 
Common symptoms of hypoglycemia include hunger, shakiness, nervousness, sweating, dizziness, sleepiness, confusion, difficulty speaking, anxiety and weakness, according to a publication by the National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse.
 
People with diabetes need to know the signs and symptoms; should any show up, they need to take measures to correct the condition.

David Liu and editing by Rachel Stockton