Global Health Watch: Artificial pancreas has potential for pregnant women with Type 1 diabetes
A team of European doctors has tested an “artificial pancreas†aimed at helping pregnant women with Type 1 diabetes control their blood sugar. The goal? To lower their risk of having an abnormal birth or a fatal episode of hypoglycemia.
Funded by the charitable foundation Diabetes UK, the research explores the during-pregnancy potential of a device the size of a cellphone. This “pancreas†has a continuous glucose monitor and an insulin pump that maintains a reliable level of blood sugar.
Type 1 diabetes affects an estimated 32 in every 1,000 pregnancies in the UK, and Dr. Helen Murphy of Cambridge University elaborated to the BBC on the implications of that: “Half of all babies born to mothers with Type 1 diabetes are overweight or obese at birth because of too much sugar in the blood.â€
Murphy headed the international research team of scientists who conducted the latest research. She added in the BBC story: “These high blood glucose levels increase the risk of congenital malformation, stillbirth, neonatal death, preterm delivery, macrosomia [oversized babies] and neonatal admission. So to discover an artificial pancreas can help maintain near-normal glucose levels in these women is very promising.â€
The device, which can be attached to clothing, had already been successfully tested on children with Type 1 diabetes.
The latest results -- from tests on 10 diabetic pregnant women -- are published in the February issue of the journal Diabetes Care. In short, they’re promising, suggesting that normal blood sugar levels can be reliably achieved.
