According to research published by Science Daily, the University of Cambridge has tested an artificial pancreas that they hope will one day help people with type 2 diabetes.
Compared to standard treatment, the gadget, driven by an algorithm created at the University of Cambridge, quadrupled the amount of time patients spent with their glucose levels within the therapeutic range and reduced the proportion of time patients spent with high glucose levels.
Type 2 diabetes affects an estimated 415 million people globally, spending $760 billion in medical costs annually. According to Diabetes UK, there are over 4.9 million diabetics in the United Kingdom, with 90% having type 2 diabetes. The disease costs the National Health Service (NHS) more than £10 billion annually.
High glucose levels (blood sugar) are the distinguishing feature of type 2 diabetes. When blood sugar levels go too high or too low, insulin is produced to help, but insulin production is reduced in people with type 2 diabetes. Long-term exposure can result in various health issues, including vision loss, renal failure, nerve damage, and even heart disease.
A combination of medication and behavioral modifications (such as eating healthier and exercising more) is frequently utilized to control the illness and keep glucose levels steady. The University of Cambridge’s Wellcome-MRC Institute of Metabolic Science has created a synthetic pancreas to aid in the maintenance of appropriate glucose levels in the body.
The CamAPS HX system consists of a store-bought glucose monitor, insulin pump, and custom software. An algorithm within this application determines the insulin dosage necessary to maintain stable blood sugar levels.
In prior work by the same team, a comparable artificial pancreas operated by the same algorithm was demonstrated to be effective in treating patients of all ages with type 1 diabetes, from adults to small children. They have also tested the gadget on persons who require renal dialysis due to type 2 diabetes.
The scientists published the findings of the device’s first clinical investigation in a larger sample of persons with type 2 diabetes today in Nature Medicine (not requiring kidney dialysis). Unlike the artificial pancreas used to treat type 1 diabetes, which requires patients to notify the device that they are going to eat for insulin levels to be adjusted, this new version of the artificial pancreas is a closed-loop system.
The Wolfson Diabetes and Endocrine Clinic at Addenbrooke’s Hospital (part of Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust) and neighboring general practitioner offices provided the 26 participants for the study. Patients were randomly allocated to either utilize the artificial pancreas or continue with their regular therapy of many daily insulin injections for eight weeks.
Several methodologies were utilized to evaluate the artificial pancreas’s performance. The first dealt with the percentage of time a patient’s glucose levels were within the desired range of 3.9-10.0mmol/L. The artificial pancreas kept patients in the target glucose range twice as long as the control group (66%).
The second parameter was the frequency with which blood glucose levels exceeded 10.0mmol/L. High blood sugar levels are linked to an increased risk of significant issues later in life. Users of the artificial pancreas spent 67% less time with elevated glucose levels than those on a placebo. Patients’ typical glucose levels reduced to 9.2mmol/L with the artificial pancreas after a 12.6mmol/L decline with placebo treatment.
HbA1c readings, or glycated hemoglobin, were also lowered due to utilizing the app. The oxygen-carrying protein in red blood cells, hemoglobin, is “glycated” when it binds to glucose in the blood.
Doctors who do an HbA1c test can see how stable the patient’s blood sugar has been in recent weeks or months. High HbA1c values are associated with the development of diabetes-related comorbidities. After getting a placebo, the average HbA1c level was 8.7%, but it reduced to 7.3% after receiving the artificial pancreas.
During the duration of the experiment, there were no cases of hypoglycemia. Due to an abscess at the cannula site, one patient using an artificial pancreas pump had to be hospitalized.
Dr. Charlotte Boughton, a co-leader of the study and a researcher at the Wellcome-MRC Institute of Metabolic Science at the University of Cambridge, stated: “Despite the availability of therapies such as insulin injections, many patients with type 2 diabetes still struggle to maintain healthy blood sugar levels. An artificial pancreas is a simple, effective, and risk-free technique to assist these individuals and may be used at home.”
Dr. Aideen Daly, a Wellcome-MRC Institute metabolic expert, added: “Concerns about life-threatening hypoglycemia have impeded widespread use of insulin therapy. Unfortunately, we discovered that none of the study participants had them and that patients only sometimes had blood sugar levels that were within the normal range.”
Nine out of ten patients who used the technology to modify their glucose levels automatically said it helped them manage their diabetes better. Users report feeling less worried about maintaining their blood glucose levels and relying less on injections and finger-prick tests.
The researchers believe that the heightened awareness and monitoring of glucose levels led to increased worry about the dangers of hypoglycemia; other drawbacks were practical inconveniences with wearing the devices.
