Diabetes patients could be one step closer to an artificial pancreas after a Medtronic study showed that using an insulin pump with a continuous glucose sensor provided better control over blood sugar than insulin injections.
According to the study, patients who use the company's insulin pump still had to adjust their insulin levels manually but the closed-loop system continuously monitors blood sugar levels and adjust insulin delivery automatically, creating a device similar to an artificial pancreas.
The study was conducted on 485 people with type 1 diabetes, aged between seven and 70. Half the patients were given standard treatment and the other half used the pump and glucose sensor device.
Patients who used the pumps 80% of the time reduced their risk of developing diabetes complications by 30-40%, the study published in the New England Journal of Medicine said.
After one year of treatment, A1c levels in pump patients dropped from an average of 8.3% to 7.5%, while levels dropped to just 8.1% in the insulin injection group.
Researcher Richard M Bergenstal, MD, said the new study proves that combining an insulin pump and glucose sensor can help patients achieve optimal blood sugar control.
"We were able to get blood sugar down into the range where we can prevent long-term complications and we did it without causing it to drop too low. These are probably the best results in terms of balancing the two of any study done to date," Bergenstal said.
