Patch could replace needles for blood-sugar tracking | World Defense

Patch could replace needles for blood-sugar tracking

Khafee

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Patch could replace needles for blood-sugar tracking
By Serena Gordon, HealthDay News | Jan. 04, 2018

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THURSDAY, Jan. 4, 2018 -- Developers of a new patch hope to eliminate a big barrier in type 2 diabetes treatment -- painful finger-sticks and injections.

The new patch -- which actually uses an array of tiny needles that researchers promise are pain-free -- senses when blood sugar levels are rising and then releases medication to bring those elevated levels back down.

That means the patch could end the need to draw blood from your fingertips to check your blood sugar level. It could also eliminate the needles used to administer insulin or other diabetes medications.

"This type of disposable patch is expected to control blood glucose levels for a week," said the study's senior author, Xiaoyuan (Shawn) Chen, chief of the laboratory of molecular imaging and nanomedicine at the U.S. National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering in Bethesda, Md.

"It will not complicate the routines of daily living," Chen said.

Though the patch looks promising, so far it's been tested only on 21 mice with type 2 diabetes. Results from animal trials aren't always equaled in human trials.

The patch contains chemicals that sense rising blood sugar levels. When that happens, a medication called exendin-4 is released to trigger the body to produce insulin until blood sugar levels start to fall.

Exendin-4 is part of a class of drugs called GLP-1 receptor agonists. It's currently on the market in the United States as Byetta, a twice-daily injection. Other drugs in this class of injectable medications include Trulicity and Bydureon, which are weekly injections, and Victoza, which is a daily injection, according to the American Diabetes Association.

For the patch, exendin-4 is combined with alginate, a gum-like material extracted from brown algae. This mixture is then poured into microneedle form and loaded onto the patch.

The patch tested on the mice was about a half-inch square, according to the researchers. It contained enough medication for a week.

"We achieved a smart, long-acting and glucose-responsive exendin-4 release," Chen said.

He noted that some of the mice had inflammation at the site of the patch. In humans, nausea and vomiting are known side effects of the drug, but the researchers believe that the release of exendin-4 is slow enough that it won't cause those side effects.

The next step is to make a larger patch with more needles, Chen explained. The researchers will also need to create longer needles to penetrate human skin.

Dr. Joel Zonszein, director of the Clinical Diabetes Center at Montefiore Medical Center in New York City, said it looked like the patch worked well in the study.

"But it's a big stretch from mice to even trying something like this in humans and getting approved by the [U.S. Food and Drug Administration]," said Zonszein, who wasn't involved with the study.

Still, he said, the patch itself is a very good idea, and the beauty of it would be that it wouldn't require people with diabetes to spend a lot of time managing their disease.

However, Zonszein pointed out that oral versions of GLP-1 drugs are in clinical trials and will compete with injections in the not-far-off future.

Also, while the patch idea is interesting, "exendin-4 is the wrong medication," Zonszein said. If researchers could figure out how to make the patch with insulin, he said, that would likely be a better option, though the required doses of insulin might be too large to fit in the patch.

Results of the researchers' study on the patch treatment on mice were published online recently in Nature Communications.

More information
The American Diabetes Association has more on treating type 2 diabetes.

Copyright © 2018 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
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https://www.upi.com/Health_News/201...for-blood-sugar-tracking/6521515078142/?nll=1
 

Indus Falcon

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If and when, this patch becomes available, and depending on its side effects, it could very well neuter the menace called "diabetes".
 

Lieutenant

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If and when, this patch becomes available, and depending on its side effects, it could very well neuter the menace called "diabetes".

It's not going to be effective for Type 1. The only long lasting solution now is the traditional method. The artificial pancreas has not been approved by the WHO nor the FDA either. We as human still need time to figure out the physiological functions of our own bodies. Small thing like cancer we still unable to decode. We understand the changes but we can not do anything to counter cells mutations. Humans are weak yet arrogant.
 

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I wish!!! after three kids she feels i am better off looking at greener fields in others yards :lol:
I had that in mind, but sometimes people get upset, so I toned it down \~/\~/
 

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I talked to one of the people on such a team when they visited my former uni some years back. Back then it was only the sensor part that was still being researched. They were basically looking at making a sensor able to detect the difference in the blood flow by its EM wave conductivity.

Amazing stuff, but many times the human trials always have some stumbling blocks (the history of this endeavour goes back to the 1970s I think). Most advances today have come because of being able to fit more and more microcircuitry into smaller and smaller space, but this comes at cost to the fragility and reliability of the system too. So the race is on to find the balance that works best, there is big bucks for the first to get through FDA certification.
 

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App for glucose monitoring via smartphones launched
LibreLink app from Abbott reads glucose levels via a sensor placed on the arm, delivering instant results to the smartphone.
By David NdichuPublished January 29, 2018
  • 42400-mohap-ap_article.jpg

  • The app features a trend arrow that indicates whether glucose levels are steady, rising or dropping.

    Diabetes patients can now monitor their blood sugar levels on smartphones thanks to a new partnership between the Ministry of Health and Prevention (MOHAP) and Abbott Laboratories at the ongoing Arab Health exhibition.
    The Ministry has launched the LibreLink app from Abbott which reads glucose levels via the FreeStyle Libre sensor placed on the back of the upper arm, eliminating the need for routine finger pricking while delivering instant results.
    H.E. Dr. Yousif Mohammed Al Serkal, assistant undersecretary for the Hospitals Sector, highlighted the importance of using advanced methods to treat diabetes, noting that regular testing for patients, treatment management, self-care, accurate monitoring of blood glucose, and continuous data management through this app, would help reduce the negative health, social and economic effects diabetes has on the community. He said that the quality of the services provided by the ministry have helped reduce the prevalence of diabetes.
    The app can transfer up to eight hours of glucose levels from the FreeStyle Libre sensor and features a trend arrow that indicates whether glucose levels are steady, rising or dropping. One LibreLink account can show results for up to 20 individuals.
  • “At Abbott, we're committed to helping people live their best possible life through the power of health. Therefore, we take pride in participating in Arab Health and presenting innovative technologies, in partnership with the Ministry of Health and Prevention,” said Hani Khasati, general manager, Greece, Middle East, Africa & Turkey Abbott Diabetes Care.
    Usually, diabetics use finger pricking to get a blood sample, test glucose levels and be able to make informed therapeutic decisions. However, FreeStyle Libre eliminates the need for finger pricking allowing patients to be treated and reduces the risks of cardiac disease, strokes, blindness, kidney failure, and diabetic foot damage that come with high glucose levels.
    The sensor should be replaced every 14 days, and patients can swim or take showers while wearing it. The LibreLink app is compatible with Android OS 4.0 or higher.

http://www.itp.net/616404-arab-heal...nitoring-via-smartphones-launched?tab=article
 

Indus Falcon

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App for glucose monitoring via smartphones launched
LibreLink app from Abbott reads glucose levels via a sensor placed on the arm, delivering instant results to the smartphone.
By David NdichuPublished January 29, 2018
  • 42400-mohap-ap_article.jpg

  • The app features a trend arrow that indicates whether glucose levels are steady, rising or dropping.

    Diabetes patients can now monitor their blood sugar levels on smartphones thanks to a new partnership between the Ministry of Health and Prevention (MOHAP) and Abbott Laboratories at the ongoing Arab Health exhibition.
    The Ministry has launched the LibreLink app from Abbott which reads glucose levels via the FreeStyle Libre sensor placed on the back of the upper arm, eliminating the need for routine finger pricking while delivering instant results.
    H.E. Dr. Yousif Mohammed Al Serkal, assistant undersecretary for the Hospitals Sector, highlighted the importance of using advanced methods to treat diabetes, noting that regular testing for patients, treatment management, self-care, accurate monitoring of blood glucose, and continuous data management through this app, would help reduce the negative health, social and economic effects diabetes has on the community. He said that the quality of the services provided by the ministry have helped reduce the prevalence of diabetes.
    The app can transfer up to eight hours of glucose levels from the FreeStyle Libre sensor and features a trend arrow that indicates whether glucose levels are steady, rising or dropping. One LibreLink account can show results for up to 20 individuals.
  • “At Abbott, we're committed to helping people live their best possible life through the power of health. Therefore, we take pride in participating in Arab Health and presenting innovative technologies, in partnership with the Ministry of Health and Prevention,” said Hani Khasati, general manager, Greece, Middle East, Africa & Turkey Abbott Diabetes Care.
    Usually, diabetics use finger pricking to get a blood sample, test glucose levels and be able to make informed therapeutic decisions. However, FreeStyle Libre eliminates the need for finger pricking allowing patients to be treated and reduces the risks of cardiac disease, strokes, blindness, kidney failure, and diabetic foot damage that come with high glucose levels.
    The sensor should be replaced every 14 days, and patients can swim or take showers while wearing it. The LibreLink app is compatible with Android OS 4.0 or higher.

http://www.itp.net/616404-arab-heal...nitoring-via-smartphones-launched?tab=article

A lot of new tech becoming available for diabetics, but unfortunately, the equipment they replace is at 3 or 4 times it's cost. Hopefully costs will come down as well, or legislation will force insurance to cover it.

The good thing about http://www.freestylelibre.ie/ is that a diabetic can get blood glucose readings for 24 hrs, based on 3 readings every 8hrs. This helps diabetics, in recognizing what caused thier sugar spike, or dip.

It could very well replace the HbA1c tests as well.
 
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