Pancreatic prosthesis normalizes insulin and glucagon
The new artificial pancreas works with two hormones at onceABC Journal based on the materials of Science Translational Medicine: A Bihormonal Closed-Loop Artificial Pancreas for Type 1 Diabetes
Scientists from Boston University have created an artificial pancreas that is able to maintain normal blood glucose levels without bringing the patient to hypoglycemia. The system monitors glucose levels and uses a software–controlled pump to inject insulin and its antagonist, the hormone glucagon.
The new system uses 2 hormones at once, which, according to its creators, allows you to regulate blood sugar levels even after eating a high-carbohydrate meal for people with type I diabetes. Usually, glucagon in large doses is used as an emergency drug for people in a state of hypoglycemia. The new system allows you to inject glucagon minute by minute throughout the day, depending on blood sugar levels – as it happens in a healthy person who does not suffer from diabetes. In 2007, the system was tested on experimental animals, which allowed to obtain FDA approval for conducting clinical trials in humans.
The study of Boston scientists involved 11 adults with type I diabetes. Instead of subcutaneous, the system currently uses an intravenous sensor that reads blood sugar levels. The system operated continuously for 27 hours, during which the subjects received three regular meals with a high carbohydrate content. In 6 people with an installed artificial pancreas, glucose levels within the planned limits were recorded throughout this time.
During the testing, significant differences in the need for insulin between the test participants were unexpectedly found. Their bodies processed the insulin injected into them at different rates. But at the same time, the system was configured to administer an average dose of insulin for everyone. As a result, those subjects whose bodies processed the hormone more slowly received an excessive dose of it, and 5 subjects experienced a state of hypoglycemia. After adjusting the software, repeated tests showed noticeably better results.
In the near future, scientists plan to conduct tests during which the system will work for 48 hours, and the number of subjects will include not only adults, but also children. In the future, the system will consist of a subcutaneous sensor and a device the size of a cell phone, which will contain hormones and a control software microchip.
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16.04.2010