June 28, 2011
Artificial Pancreas Eases Diabetes Burden
(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- The 25.8 million Americans who have diabetes may soon be free of finger pricks and daily insulin dosing. Mayo Clinic endocrinologists are developing an artificial pancreas that will deliver insulin automatically and with an individualized precision never before possible.
"The effects of low-intensity physical activity, mimicking activities of daily living, measured with precise accelerometers on glucose variability in type 1 diabetes had not been examined," Mayo Clinic endocrinologist Yogish Kudva, M.B.B.S., was quoted as saying.Among his newest findings is that even basic physical activity after meals has a profound impact on blood sugar levels for people with type 1 diabetes.
Diabetics who engaged in low-grade physical activity after eating had blood sugar levels close to those of people with fully functioning pancreases. Those who remained sedentary after their meal, however, had elevated blood sugars.
The researchers plan to incorporate these findings into an artificial pancreas being developed at Mayo Clinic. The "Closed Loop System" under development includes a blood sugar monitor, an automatic insulin pump, a set of activity monitors that attach to the body and a central processing unit.
Clinical trials of the artificial pancreases are likely to begin in November with a handful of inpatient volunteers. Study participants will follow strict diet, exercise and insulin-delivery regimens in Mayo's Clinical Research Unit. Data will then be fed into an insulin-delivery algorithm, which mimics the body's natural process of monitoring and responding to glucose levels in the bloodstream.
"Physical activity enhances insulin action, hence lowering blood glucose concentration," Dr. Kudva said. "Real-time detection of physical activity -- and modeling of its effect on glucose dynamics -- is vital to design an automatic insulin delivery system."
SOURCE: Mayo Clinic Press Release June 24, 2011