Hybrid Closed-loop Insulin Delivery Systems For Type 1 Diabetes Come Of Age

Hybrid closed-loop insulin delivery systems for type 1 diabetes come of age

At 19 months old, Jamie Kurtzig was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. For the next 10 years, her parents would wake up every three hours during the night to prick their daughter's finger so they could check her blood glucose level. If her blood glucose was too low, they gave her food to avoid seizures or a loss of consciousness. If it was too high, they gave her an insulin injection to bring the level down to a normal range.
"It's caused a kind of PTSD for my husband and me," said Sara Kurtzig, who lives with her daughter and husband in Marin, California.
But for the past year, they've been able to sleep through most nights. That's because Jamie started using a hybrid closed-loop insulin delivery system in 2016, thanks to a clinical trial at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford and Stanford Medicine that assessed the system's use in children ages 7 to 14.
"The closed-loop system has completely changed our lives," Sara said. "It took me a month to trust it, but now I can go to bed at 11 p.m. and wake up at 6:30 a.m. almost every night."
The system is among the methods being tested by researchers at the School of Medicine and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital in their efforts to find easier ways for younger children with type 1 diabetes to get the doses of insulin they need.
Bruce Buckingham, MD, professor of pediatric endocrinology, directs clinical trials of the closed-loop system, which modulates insulin delivery based on glucose sensor readings measured every five minutes. He called the system a "historic advance" for diabetes care.
"With this system, patients can a Continue reading

Rate this article

Total 1 ratings

Current study confirms the Nutritarian diet is BEST for reversing type 2 diabetes

Current study confirms the Nutritarian diet is BEST for reversing type 2 diabetes
Health Concerns: Diabetes , Type 1 Diabetes , Type 2 Diabetes
For diabetics and pre-diabetics especially, new research proves what moms having been telling their children through the ages, eat your veggies, theyre good for you. A recent study published in the British Journal of Nutrition reported that higher plant protein intake is associated with a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes. In their analysis, they estimated that replacing one percent of calories from animal protein with calories from plant protein would decrease the risk of type 2 diabetes by 18 percent.1
At first glance, it may seem like the dietary effects on diabetes would be only relevant to carbohydrate-containing foods. The more low-carbohydrate, high-protein foods in your diet, the better; those foods dont directly raise blood glucose. However, that is a too simplistic view of the development of type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is not only driven by elevated glucose levels, but also by chronic inflammation, oxidative stress, and alterations in circulating lipids (fats).2-5
In addition, there has been considerable amount of evidence that red and processed meats are linked to a greater risk of type 2 diabetes This recent study is not the first one to make the connection between protein source and diabetes. In fact, many studies have compared plant and animal protein intake with respect to diabetes risk. A larger study published in 2016 found an increase in type 2 diabetes risk in those with the highest animal protein intake. Continue reading

Nutrition Therapy Recommendations for the Management of Adults With Diabetes

A healthful eating pattern, regular physical activity, and often pharmacotherapy are key components of diabetes management. For many individuals with diabetes, the most challenging part of the treatment plan is determining what to eat. It is the position of the American Diabetes Association (ADA) that there is not a “one-size-fits-all” eating pattern for individuals with diabetes. The ADA also recognizes the integral role of nutrition therapy in overall diabetes management and has historically recommended that each person with diabetes be actively engaged in self-management, education, and treatment planning with his or her health care provider, which includes the collaborative development of an individualized eating plan (1,2). Therefore, it is important that all members of the health care team be knowledgeable about diabetes nutrition therapy and support its implementation.
This position statement on nutrition therapy for individuals living with diabetes replaces previous position statements, the last of which was published in 2008 (3). Unless otherwise noted, research reviewed was limited to those studies conducted in adults diagnosed with type 1 or type 2 diabetes. Nutrition therapy for the prevention of type 2 diabetes and for the management of diabetes complications and gestational diabetes mellitus is not addressed in this review.
A grading system, developed by the ADA and modeled after existing methods, was utilized to clarify and codify the evidence that forms the basis for the recommendations (1) (Table 1). The level of evidence that supports each recommendati Continue reading

How Geisinger Treats Diabetes by Giving Away Free, Healthy Food

How Geisinger Treats Diabetes by Giving Away Free, Healthy Food
Diabetes has long been one of the most expensive medical conditions.In 2013 spending on care for people with the disease in the United States topped $100 billion. But it is also one of the most amenable to simple, low-cost behavioral interventions. At Geisinger, we set out to improve the health of diabetic adults by providing them with free, nutritious food and a comprehensive suite of medical, dietetic, social, and environmental services. This program, our Fresh Food Farmacy has had clinical impacts superior to those provided by medications that cost billions of dollars to develop, and has done so at dramatically lower cost. This article describes how Geisinger built and is running the program.
Diabetes has long been one of the most expensive medical conditions. In 2013 spending on care for people with the disease in the United States topped $100 billion . But it is also one of the most amenable to simple, low-cost behavioral interventions. At Geisinger, we set out to improve the health of diabetic adults by providing them with free, nutritious food and a comprehensive suite of medical, dietetic, social, and environmental services. This program, our Fresh Food Farmacy , has had clinical impacts superior to those provided by medications that cost billions of dollars to develop, and has done so at dramatically lower cost. Finding effective, less expensive treatments for diabetes is critical because of its enormous social and financial costs and its growing prevalence: One in 10 people currently has diabetes, Continue reading

{Guest Post} My pregnancy journey with gestational diabetes

This week’s post about gestational diabetes is written by South African mom blogger Puveshree Moodie, who blogs at Life’s a Treat.
I was somewhere between my 24th and 28th week of pregnancy when I got a call from my gynaecologist saying that I need to come in and discuss the results of my 3 hour glucose test. My gynaecologist sat Jason and myself down and discussed my results. She gave us as much information as she could as I had no idea what this meant for my baby’s and my health.
This diagnosis was a head-on challenge which I was up for the battle.I went into research mode to learn as much as I could about GD to ensure I overcome this without taking any medication. I learnt about the carbohydrate vs. protein balance to maintain healthy blood sugar levels.My gynae booked me into the hospital for 24 hours to monitor how my body coped with breaking down the sugar in difference types of food.Once this was established, a dietician compiled a personalised eating plan for me. I went home with a list of allowed foods and its portion size in each food group. I also received print outs to keep a food diary and blood sugar readings after 30 and 60 minutes of eating. I purchased a blood sugar test machine to get the readings. My goal was not to take any medication to manage the GD and to manage it through diet. Leading up to the diagnosis, I was eating healthier and limited sugars so it was not a huge task to adjust my eating habits.
I became obsessive about what I ate, how much I ate and about testing my sugar after each meal, my gynae and dietician had to make some adjustment Continue reading