Scientific research has once again taken a firm step to improve the quality of the people who suffer from this pathology, since scientists from the University of Cambridge have successfully tested an artificial pancreas to be used by patients living with type 2 diabetes.
Specifically, the device, driven by an algorithm, doubles the amount of time that patients are in the objective range of glucose compared to standard treatment and was able to reduce in half the time they spent experiencing high glucose levels,As published today in the prestigious scientific journal «Nature Medicine».
The scientists of the Wellcome-MRC Institute of Metabolic Sciences of the University of Cambridge investigate the use of an artificial pancreas that can help maintain healthy glucose levels.
The device combines a standard glucose monitor and an insulin pump with an application developed by the equipment, known as HX camps.This application works with an algorithm that predicts how much insulin is required to maintain glucose levels in the target range.Researchers have previously demonstrated that an artificial pancreas executed by a similar algorithm is effective for patients living with type 1 diabetes, from adults to very young children.They have also successfully tested the device in patients with type 2 diabetes that require renal dialysis.
In Nature Medicine, the team reports on the first device test in a broader population that lives with type 2 diabetes (which does not require renal dialysis).Unlike the artificial pancreas used for type 1 diabetes, this new version is a completely closed circuit system, while patients with type 1 diabetes need to tell their artificial pancreas that they are about to eat to allow insulin adjustment, for example, with this version they can let the device work completely automatically.
The team used several measures to evaluate the effectiveness with which the artificial pancreas and the results are promising.The first was the proportion of time that patients passed with their glucose levels within an objective range of between 3.9 and 10.0 mmol/l.
On average, patients who used the artificial pancreas passed two thirds (66 %) of their time within the target range, double while they were in control (32 %).A second measure was the proportion of past time with glucose levels above 10.0 mmol/l.
Over time, high glucose levels increase the risk of potentially serious complications.Patients who took control therapy passed two thirds (67%) of their time with high glucose levels;This was reduced by half to 33% when artificial pancreas was used.
Thus, the average glucose levels fell: 12.6 mmol/l when taking control therapy at 9.2 mmol/l when using the artificial pancreas.In addition, the application also reduced the levels of a molecule known as glycosylated hemoglobin or HBA1C.For people with diabetes, the higher the HBA1C, the greater the risk of developing complications related to diabetes.After control therapy, the average HBA1C levels were 8.7 %, while after using the artificial pancreas they were 7.3 %.In addition, no patient experienced dangerously low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) during study.
Dr. Charlotte Boughton, a member of the Welcomome-MRC Institute of Metabolic Sciences at the University of Cambridge, who co-directed the study, says that “many people with type 2 diabetes fight to control their blood sugar levels using the treatments currently available, currently available,like theInsulin in injections.However, the artificial pancreas can provide a safe and effective approach to help them, and technology is easy to use and can be implemented safely at home ».
For her part, Dr. Aideen Daly, also from the WellCome-MRC Institute of Metabolic Sciences, advances that "one of the barriers for the generalized use of insulin therapy has been the concern about the risk of 'hiccups', that is to say, dangerously low blood sugar levels.But we discovered that no patient in our essay experienced these ranges.
