Firas El-Khatib, PhD, explains some of the details of how the current bionic pancreas works – with three devices – and how a future design will probably only have two devices with a combination insulin/glucagon pump system. He says that, although the bionic device is not a cure, it is …
Read More »Firas El-Khatib, PhD, Part 1: Introduction to the Bionic Pancreas
Firas El-Khatib, PhD, gives us a short introduction to himself and then explains some of his work developing the bionic pancreas focusing especially on the challenges of developing an algorithm. He also discusses the very positive results of the most recent study where patients were able to fully utilize the …
Read More »Genetically Modified Bacteria to Detect Cancer and Diabetes?
Engineers at MIT and the University of California at San Diego (UCSD) have devised a new way to detect cancer that has spread to the liver, by enlisting help from probiotics — beneficial bacteria similar to those found in yogurt…. Many types of cancer, including colon and pancreatic, tend …
Read More »Visualize You
Visual Health Solutions, Inc. Free (basic version) iOS/Android If you’re looking for a way to motivate your patients to lose weight, this app could be a huge help. Researchers at the Cleveland Clinic and the University of Colorado Anschutz Health and Wellness Center, have developed the first "scientifically accurate, …
Read More »CGMS Reveals Risk of Larger Babies
Fluctuating glucose levels in diabetic pregnant women, revealed through continuous glucose monitoring, is associated with bigger babies… Achieving better glucose control in pregnant women with diabetes by using continuous glucose monitoring may help them give birth to healthier children, new research from the University of Leeds says. Up to 50% …
Read More »Custom Mobile App for Nurses Diagnoses More Obesity, Smoking and Depression
A Columbia Nursing study has found that nurses equipped with a decision support smartphone app using evidence-based guidelines diagnosed more chronic health issues… Smartphones and tablets may hold the key to getting more nurses to diagnose patients with chronic health issues like obesity, smoking, and depression — three of …
Read More »Practical Diabetes Care, 3rd Ed., Excerpt #4: Type 1 Diabetes: Insulin Treatment Part 1 of 2
David Levy, MD, FRCP Introduction Insulin treatment in type 1 diabetes is substitution/replacement hormone treatment, but replacement is much more variable and difficult to achieve than in other hormone deficiencies (e.g. thyroid, adrenal, gonadal hormones) because of the minute-by-minute variation in insulin secretion by the intact pancreas, which cannot yet be …
Read More »Practical Diabetes Care, 3rd Ed., Excerpt #3: Management of Inpatient Diabetes Part 2 of 2
David Levy, MD, FRCP Patients in the Intensive Care Unit Hyperglycemia, whether associated with known diabetes or not, carries a poor prognosis in critically ill patients through multiple mechanisms, including vascular disease, polyneuropathy, an increased tendency to infection, dyslipidemia, and abnormal anti-inflammatory and coagulation responses. Consistent near-normoglycemia has therefore been a …
Read More »Apple Watch with Dexcom CGM App
Dexcom is creating an app for the soon-to-be-released Apple Watch to receive and display data from its glucose monitors using their Share technology. The smartwatch, which is due out in April, will display readings as an easy-to-read graph. Dexcom has already created apps for iOS devices including the Follow …
Read More »Dexcom G4 Platinum with SHARE Gets FDA Approval
The FDA has approved Dexcom’s G4 PLATINUM Continuous Glucose Monitoring System with Share. The Dexcom Share receiver uses a secure wireless connection via Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) between a patient’s receiver and an app on the patient’s smartphone to transmit glucose information to apps on the mobile devices of …
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