Artificial Pancreas can Prevent the Development of Hypoglycemia
LONDON, June 18, 2010/PRNewswire/ -- An article recently
published in The Lancet reports that using an artificial pancreas
system overnight can significantly reduce the risk of nocturnal
hypoglycemia in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes.(1)
Moreover, the first clinical trial of an artificial pancreas system
delivering both insulin and glucagon has shown that this system can
prevent development of hypoglycemia.(2) The latest issue of the
journal Diabetic Hypoglycemia (http://www.hypodiab.com) reviews
advances in artificial pancreas design and production in further
detail.
Dr Roman Hovorka, a leading artificial pancreas researcher and
author of the Lancet paper(1) discusses developments in the field
of closed-loop insulin delivery and reviews system components and
challenges to the introduction of this technology into clinical
practice, including the need for superfast-acting insulin analogs,
dual hormone approaches to accelerate insulin absorption, and
optimization of the clinical infrastructure to support the use of
closed-loop systems.
Professor Simon Heller's related editorial details how
technological developments supporting diabetes self-management have
so far failed to lead to major improvements in glycemic control or
to consistently reduced rates of severe hypoglycemia. He explains
that one reason may be the requirement for patients to estimate
both basal and prandial insulin doses, which can be demanding for
many patients and may lead to ineffective diabetes self-management.
Professor Heller discusses how the introduction of closed-loop
systems might address this issue.
References
(1) Hovorka R, Allen JM, Elleri D, et al. Manual closed-loop
insulin delivery in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes:
a phase 2 randomised crossover trial. The Lancet
2010:375(9716):743-51.
(2) El-Khatib FH, Russell SJ, Nathan DM, et al. A Bihormonal
Closed-Loop Artificial Pancreas for Type 1 Diabetes. Sci Transl Med
2010:2(27):27ra27, published online 14 April 2010.
About Diabetic Hypoglycemia
Published by ESP Bioscience (Sandhurst, UK), Diabetic
Hypoglycemia is an influential online diabetes journal led by
Editor-in-Chief Professor Brian Frier (Edinburgh, UK), with
Associate Editors: Professor Simon Heller (Sheffield, UK),
Professor Christopher Ryan (Pittsburgh, USA) and Dr Rory McCrimmon
(Dundee, UK). Published three times annually, Diabetic Hypoglycemia
provides an interactive forum for the sharing of practical
knowledge and opinions in the field of hypoglycemia.
To explore Diabetic Hypoglycemia, please take the guided tour:
http://www.hypodiab.com/Teaser/hypodiab.html.
Diabetic Hypoglycemia is published by ESP Bioscience, supported
by an unrestricted educational grant from Novo Nordisk A/S
(Bagsvaerd, Denmark).
Contact:
Editorial Office
E: enquiries@hypodiab.com
T: +44(0)1344-762531
F: +44(0)203-0514753
Source: ESP Bioscience
Contact: Editorial Office, E: enquiries@hypodiab.com, T: +44(0)1344-762531, F: +44(0)203-0514753
Posted: June 2010
