Researchers Are Close to Creating Artificial Pancreas

Researchers are coming closer to developing an "artificial pancreas," a long-sought system of insulin pumps and glucose sensors that deliver insulin to diabetics, mimicking the function of a real pancreas.

The devices have been in development for more than three decades, but lawmakers and diabetes advocates are ramping up the pressure and U.S. regulators this week outlined a regulatory path for a preliminary version of the device.

The device offers hope to countless type 1 diabetes.

“Type 1 diabetes is a nationwide epidemic, affecting more than one million Americans,” according to Loma Linda University officials. The university has a  Pancreas Transplant Program as part of Transplantation Institute’s comprehensive multi-organ transplantation program. “(Type 1 diabetes) occurs when the body does not produce insulin, a hormone found in the pancreas which converts sugar into energy.”

While a seamless device that tracks a diabetic's blood sugar and automatically administers the right dose of insulin is still years away from commercial use, results of several studies being presented this week at the American Diabetes Association meeting in San Diego show real promise.

In one, researchers from Boston University and Massachusetts General Hospital tested a system using Abbott Laboratories' FreeStyle Navigator continuous glucose monitor and two insulin pumps made by Insulet Corp, all controlled by a laptop.

The system, which is designed to better mimic the body's natural mechanism of controlling both high and low blood sugar, was portable enough to allow adults with type 1 diabetes to roam around a hospital and use an exercise bike.

At the end of the 51-hour study, which involved daily exercise, two nights and six meals - all of which affect a diabetic's blood sugar levels - six patients had an average blood glucose in the normal range - in the high 140s, which is about the equivalent of an A1c reading of about 7.

"It is very good. This is what we would call near normal blood glucose," said Dr. Steven Russell of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston who is developing the system with Edward Damiano, a biomedical engineer at Boston University.

In another study, a team at Mayo Clinic hooked patients up with devices called accelerometers that tracked movements and found that even moderate exercise plays a role in glucose. The team, led by Yogish Kudva, will incorporate this data into a sophisticated software program that acts as the "brain" of an artificial pancreas system, analyzing blood sugar and calculating when diabetics need a dose of insulin.

The team plans to start a clinical trial with the system this year or early next year, Kudva says.

Loma Linda University Medical describes the pancreas as a large, slender gland located behind the stomach. Its main functions are to secrete enzymes to help with digestion and regulate blood sugar by producing insulin and glucagon. Pancreas transplants are performed for people with severe Type 1 diabetes and have either healthy kidney function or a functioning kidney transplant. When Type 1 diabetes cannot be controlled, a successful pancreas transplant can slow the progression of complications from their disease, medical center officials said.

Read the res of the story here.

Story by Reuters.