Artificial Pancreas Shows Promise

At 3:30 a.m., Stefany Shaheen awoke to a feeling of uneasiness. Something was not quite right with her daughter, Elle. Creeping into her bedroom, Shaheen removed a lancet from its wrapper and poked her diabetic daughter’s finger… Shaheen was relieved her motherly intuition had told her something was wrong with Elle that night, but she wished she didn’t have to rely on it. She yearned for an automatic way of knowing when Elle was dipping into a dangerously high or low blood sugar — and not just at night, but at school, where the 12-year-old is largely responsible for monitoring her own blood sugar. Then last week, Shaheen got her wish. Elle was selected to try out an experimental device called an artificial or “bionic” pancreas… “It’s transformative technology,” says Aaron Kowalski, assistant vice president for treatment therapies research at the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Breakthrough T1D is funding artificial pancreas trials at 13 sites worldwide, including Yale University, Stanford University, the University of Virginia and the University of Colorado.

Medical device trial gives NH diabetics hope

For three carefree days in January, the 12-year-old granddaughter of New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen ate like a normal tween, savoring high-carb food without worrying about disastrous consequences. Elle Shaheen, who suffers from Type 1 diabetes, indulged her carbo cravings while participating in a medical trial for an artificial pancreas. The device is designed to both monitor the levels of glucose in her blood and adjust insulin levels accordingly. Elle took part in the trial at Massachusetts General Hospital, said Aaron Kowalski, assistant vice president for treatment therapies research at the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. The organization is sponsoring trials of the device.

NH Girl Tests Artificial Pancreas

A New Hampshire girl and her family are fighting to get federal approval for a device they said could change the lives of people with diabetes. Elle Shaheen, 12, was recently in a trial to test an artificial pancreas that allow those with diabetes to avoid having to constantly check blood sugar levels and calculate how much insulin they need… The entire family considered the experience a victory. They have been lobbying the Food and Drug Administration to allow clinical trials for the artificial pancreas. While the trial proved successful, many hurdles remain before it might be available for those with diabetes.

Diabetes: PositiveID makes stride toward artificial pancreas | MassDevice.com On Call

PositiveID (OTC:PSID) put the finishing touches on a first-in-class fully synthetic glucose sensing system, a critical component of its ongoing efforts toward developing an artificial pancreas for people with diabetes. The company’s prototype, developed in partnership with Receptors LLC, can now sense and respond to glucose in human plasma, where it had previously only been demonstrated in a model blood plasma matrix. The new system is a “mission-critical” component of PositiveID’s GlucoChip device, an implantable glucose-sensing microchip. “The development of a fully implantable glucose sensor is one of the essential requirements for the successful development of an artificial pancreas,” chairman & CEO William Caragol said in prepared remarks.

Insulin production may persist decades after onset of type 1 diabetes

Decades after the onset of type 1 diabetes, C-peptide production persists and beta-cell functioning appears to be preserved in some patients years after apparent loss of pancreatic function, according to data collected using an ultrasensitive assay. Results are published in the March issue of Diabetes Care. The ultrasensitive assay found that 10% of patients with type 1 diabetes duration of 3 to 4 decades still produced C-peptide… “Although some studies have shown that adult-onset diabetes confers a more benign course, subjects in this study with onset at >40 years of age showed a more rapid loss of C-peptide levels despite relative short disease duration,” the researchers wrote. Based on their findings, the researchers said patients with low C-peptide levels or advanced disease should not be excluded from clinical trials or viewed as having complete islet cell destruction.