The system is a little different from one that was tested on kids at a summer camp in the US last year, but the results were similar, the team reported.
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The research discuss the discovery that extended use of a closed-loop system over a period of 12 weeks in a personal home setting, during free daily living and without the requisite for close supervision is acceptable in adults, children, and even adolescents with type 1 diabetes.
Note that this small, randomized trial found that a closed-loop “artificial beta cell” insulin delivery system was superior to a traditional insulin pump in terms of optimizing glucose control in type 1 diabetics. One adolescent had two severe hypoglycemic episodes, accompanied by seizures, when the closed-loop system was not in use. His blood glucose levels could be very low and he wouldn’t wake up.
Wearable devices allow more automatic and continuous monitoring and insulin dosing, but there’s no system on the market that coordinates the blood sugar monitor with the insulin delivery.
Patients who suffer from diabetes should closely monitor their blood sugar levels and inject correct amount of insulin every time. Patients who have T1D are known to experience stress and depression from the constant vigilance required to maintain their health. On 33 adult participants, their glucose level was stayed on target at the range of 70 to 180 milligrams per deciliter 68 percent of the time.
The authors said that patients with the algorithm-driven technology experienced more consistent glucose control despite the “day-to-day variability in insulin requirements”.
Among children and teens, the mean nighttime glucose level was lower in the closed-loop group by 29 mg/dL (95% CI -39 to -20; P 0.001); the area under the curve for the time that glucose level was 63 mg/dL was also lower, by 42% (95% CI 4-65; P=0.03).
The authors concluded that in diabetic subjects, the 6-week high-protein diet leads to an improvement in glucose metabolism and decrease in liver fat independently from the protein source. “What are the risks of doing this?” comments Aaron Kowalski, who is the vice president for research at the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) said.
The latest study was presented during an oral session of the annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes.
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Adjustments were made for a number of variables, including age, sex, duration of diabetes, marital status, income, education, smoking status, systolic blood pressure, BMI, estimated kidney function, statin use, proteinuria levels, type of diabetes medication, atrial fibrillation, stroke and blood pressure medications.
