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
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