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Sure looks like a 'cure'
for type 1 diabetes 'cure', would return to the way they were be- fore they became diabetic, and would be like non-diabetics -- eating, socializing, working, and living without worrying about losing consciousness, giving insulin shots, blood sugars going too low, blood sugars going too high, or any of the complications that can result from having type 1 diabetes. That's the ideal. Not sure how close the fol- lowing might come to that, as the word 'cure' is notably absent in the following article, but it's difficult to see how a close- loop artificial pancreas that successfully maintained blood sugar levels without the requirement for human intervention would avoid being characterized as a 'cure'. Perhaps the word 'cure' isn't used in the fol- lowing because the method is artificial, rather than biological, but in any case, -if- no human intervention is required, it's as good as 'gold' for type 1 diabetics -if- some day, some way, an artificial pancreas resembling the real thing becomes a reality: - - - October 30, 2008 Artificial Pancreas Could Revolutionize Treatment of Type 1 Diabetes http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/10/081029104717.htm - - - Complete article: Researchers at the University of Virginia and sites across the globe are testing a computerized, subcutaneous system that could one day trans- form the way Type 1 diabetics manage their disease. U.Va. investigators have completed the first of several international artificial pancreas clinical trials to test an individually-"prescribed" control algorithm, which regulates blood glucose levels in Type 1 diabetics. U.Va.is one of seven centers worldwide funded by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation to perform the novel closed-loop computer simulation of the human metabolic system. Since late June, researchers have successfully tested the new system on five patients at the U.Va. Health System. Three additional patients partici- pated in a parallel study at the University of Padova, Italy. "Our initial results are very encouraging," said Boris Kovatchev, associate professor of psychi- atry and neurobehavioral sciences and of systems and information engineering, who is leading U.Va.'s research team. "The system entirely maintained the patients' blood glucose levels, and the algorithm achieved excellent overnight control without any incidence of hypoglycemia." Kovatchev, internationally known for his exper- tise in applying advanced computational methods to diabetes research, was one of the scientists who developed the system's novel algorithm, which allows for personalized treatment for each patient. By linking patients' glucose mon- itors with their insulin pumps, the "smart" pro- gram automatically regulates the amount of insulin a patient needs. Researchers were granted Food and Drug Admin- istration approval, based solely on computer sim- ulation experiments, to test the artificial pancreas in humans, without any prior animal trials. The action cut research development time from sev- eral years to six months. "This artificial pancreas could one day greatly improve the current methods of self-treatment for Type 1 diabetes," Kovatchev said. "Instead of a patient having to measure his or her blood sugar with a glucose meter several times a day and self-administer insulin injections, this sys- tem would continuously regulate the patient's blood glucose, much like the way a non-diabetic's pancreas functions." Complete results from the initial clinical trials at the U.Va.Health System, the University of Padova and the University of Montpellier, France, are expected by the end of 2008. - - - Adapted from materials provided by University of Virginia. - - - end of article - - -
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