Continuous Glucose Monitors Proven Effective

Continuous glucose monitoring is effective in controlling blood sugar levels, according to a new study from the University of Colorado Denver published this month in the New England Journal of Medicine.

The findings, from a study involving test subjects from 8 years old to 72 years old with Type I Diabetes, indicate that monitoring blood sugar through an insulin-pump like device on a continual basis provides much more accurate information and allows better insulin dosing.

While this has been the expectation of this new technology and the early indications from animal and developmental testing, this study was the first broad human study to prove the effectiveness of this technology.  The study was funded by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

The positive results were most pronounced among adults over 25 years old and among children ages 8 to 14.  Researchers noted that those age groups tend to treat their diabetes more intensely than do young adults between the ages of 15 and 24.  This finding is very consistent with other indications of slack attention to diabetes care among young adults who are transitioning from parent-supervised care to self-care.

Once proven safe and effective, continuous glucose monitoring systems will become part of the usual treatment protocol (much as insulin pumps have in recent years), and be more likely to be covered by durable medical device provisions of most health care policies.

Proving the monitoring is reliable and effective also is a key step in the production of a 'closed loop' insulin delivery system in which a continuous glucose monitor is coupled with an insulin pump to both monitor glucose levels and deliver insulin automatically, in what researchers call an 'artificial pancreas.' (The Artificial Pancreas Center at Stanford University is spearheading global work in this area.)

Here are the key links for this article:

• Abstract of New England Journal of Medicine article (link may expire)
• Barbara Davis Center for Childhood Diabetes @ University of Colorado, Denver
• CBS4 Denver report on findings
• 9NEWS Denver report on findings
• ABC 7 Denver report on findings

'Chicago Project' working toward a cure

Came across an interesting group from the University of Illinois that is working as "The Chicago Project" to bring top scientists from around the world together on the idea of speeding up the reliability of islet cell transplantation.

This idea has been around for a while, but there have been a number of challenges:

• sufficient supplies
• long-term anti-rejection therapy
• long-term study results

Here's the basic concept: Islet cells inside the pancreas create insulin, which is a hormone essential to the absorption of glucose from the blood stream into the body's cells where it can be used to energy. In diabetes, islet cells are either destroyed altogether or impaired such that they can't effectively produce the insulin the patient needs. In islet cell transplantation, you inject new, functioning islet cells into the patient.  In early tests, the transplanted cells took and started making insulin, but there were complications.

The Chicago Project has linked many top researchers in the world to collaborate on solving the myriad complications with islet cell transplantation in the drive to make this a functional cure for diabetes.

We've added a Chicago Project link in the right-hand column.  We'll check back with them from time to time and keep you posted.