Artificial pancreas system better controls blood glucose levels than current technology
Study based at Sansum Diabetes Research Institute and other centers shows safety, efficacy benefits for people with type 1 diabetes.
A multicenter randomized clinical trial evaluating a new artificial pancreas system — which automatically monitors and regulates blood glucose levels — has found that the new system was more effective than existing treatments at controlling blood glucose levels in people with type 1 diabetes. The trial, based partly at Sansum Diabetes Research Institute, was primarily funded by theNational Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), part of the National Institutes of Health.
The system, called “Control-IQ”, improved participants’ blood glucose control throughout the day and overnight. The latter is a common but serious challenge for children and adults with type 1 diabetes, since blood glucose can drop to dangerously low levels when a person is asleep. The research is published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
“Real-world results from use of the Control-IQ system over six months show it improved glycemic control and reduced the burden of care for people with type 1 diabetes and their caregivers. These were key goals of our study,” said Jordan E. Pinsker, MD, Director of Artificial Pancreas Technology at Sansum Diabetes Research Institute and one of the principal investigators of the study. “The improvements in glycemic control were consistent across patients starting with a wide range of hemoglobin A1c (5.4-10.6%) and across all ages (14-71 years), including participants who were previously on multiple daily injections (MDI),” said Dr. Pinsker.