Back in 2016, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gave a nod to an “artificial pancreas” for type-1 diabetes. This artificial organ monitors blood sugar levels and doses the patient with the required amount of insulin. Now, the same type of system is under works for people suffering from type-2 diabetes.
The University of Cambridge and its University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust first developed an artificial pancreas that helped type-1 diabetes patients. Their latest effort in collaboration with colleagues from the University of Bern and its university hospital is a similar technology but for people with type-2 diabetes and kidney failure.
Making type-2 diabetes treatment easy
Failure of the kidney is very common among people with type-2 diabetes, the latter of which occurs when the pancreas can no longer provide enough insulin for the body. Diabetes continues to be the most common cause of kidney failure, complicating treatment by making patients experience unusually high and low blood sugar levels.
Due to this complication, treating patients with type-2 diabetes who are also suffering from kidney failure becomes very difficult. Oral medication isn’t an option in most cases, which means the patient must manually monitor their blood sugar levels and take an insulin shot. The team notes that it is difficult to develop an optimal dose routine for such patients; however, extreme blood sugar changes can lead to severe health issues.
Results look promising
Another version of the artificial pancreas is being used for type-2 diabetes patients. Compared to the one used for type-1 patients, this new system packs a fully closed system, as per the team. It allows the artificial pancreas to work on its own.
The device makes use of a glucose sensor, insulin pump, and small computer to calculate the amount of insulin administered. A smartphone is used to “make further adjustments” to the insulin dose. Compared to controls, participants who used the faux pancreas remained in their desired blood sugar range 53% of the time, on average, in contrast to the control’s 38 percent.
Similarly, researchers have developed a new test known as Galleri that is capable of detecting more than 50 types of cancer. These types of cancer usually go undetected in their early stages. The test could be very helpful to treat cancer especially when it is detected at an early stage, saving countless lives.
