ADA:
Artificial Pancreas Safe and Effective
An
artificial pancreas without the need for injections found safe and
effective.
An
"artificial pancreas" designed to deliver the key blood
sugar-regulating hormone insulin to diabetic patients without the need
for injections has been found safe and effective in a preliminary
study with 10 patients, an international research team reports.
The
device delivers insulin into the bloodstream when a sensor detects
rising blood sugar levels. Normally, the pancreas produces insulin,
but in people with type 1 diabetes the organ can't produce the
hormone. These patients must give themselves frequent insulin
injections to keep their blood sugar levels under control.
Dr.
Eric Renard and colleagues at Lapeyronie Hospital in Montpelier,
France, working with investigators at Medtronic MiniMed of Northridge,
California, tested the long-term sensor system in type 1 diabetes
patients with relatively stable disease. The first patient received
the device in April 2001, and the study lasted 6 months.
Renard
presented the findings at the American Diabetes Association's annual
meeting last week.
He
described the device as an insulin reservoir, implanted in the tissue
lining the abdominal cavity and connected to a sensor implanted in the
jugular vein. The reservoir requires insulin refills every month or
so, he said. When the sensor detects an increase in blood glucose, the
reservoir delivers the required amount of insulin.
Renard
reported that blood glucose levels were controlled more than 60% of
the time in the study group, compared with 25% of the time for the
average patient using injectable insulin. This was a result of the
accuracy of the sensor, he said.
The
most difficult time for type 1 diabetes patients to keep their blood
sugar levels stable with insulin injections is after a meal.
The
sensor is able to keep a read on glucose levels by taking measurements
as many as 288 times during a 24-hour period. The so-called artificial
pancreas is "working very well" over time, Renard said.
