Children born with type 1 diabetes can’t produce insulin from their pancreases to process sugar. Fewer than one in five of these children can manage their condition effectively. They’re subject to a lifetime of insulin injections, detailed dietary management, and a range of future health risks.
But now clinical trials at four U.S. pediatric diabetes centers are showing that an artificial pancreas manages blood sugar levels effectively and safely in children as young as six years of age.
The artificial pancreas includes a glucose monitor worn on the arm or belly and an insulin reservoir also worn outside the body. The reservoir includes an automatic pump that reads the glucose monitor and, as needed, delivers insulin into the body through a tiny needle implanted beneath the skin.
In trials with children ages 6 through 13, the device kept blood sugar levels in the normal range for 2.6 hours more per day than when children or parents managed insulin through injections and checking glucose levels by pricking fingers and drawing blood.
The tests also showed a 26-percent improvement in overnight control of blood sugar, a time when unmonitored blood sugar crashes can cause comas or death.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has cleared the device for use with children ages six and older.
TRENDPOST: In the U.S. alone, about 200,000 young people and 1.4 million adults live with type 1 diabetes. Research is under way to culture healthy pancreases from individuals’ own stem cells. Until that work bears fruit, this relatively simple device could make life relatively normal for those afflicted.
