Roughly 25% of veterans have diabetes mellitus (DM) as opposed to 9% of the general public. A small percentage of veterans have type 1 DM, which according to research, can be caused by both physical and mental trauma that affects the pancreas.
“Managing type 1 diabetes currently requires a constant juggling act between checking bloodglucose levels frequently and delivering just the right amount of insulin while taking into account meals, physical activity, and other aspects of daily life, where a missed or wrong delivery could lead to potential complications,” said Dr. Andrew Bremer, of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK). But that may change soon as we draw near to a functional “artificial pancreas,” a fully automated system that will sense rising glucose levels and adjust insulin automatically.
The FDA approved a hybrid model of an artificial pancreas in 2016, which still required users to adjust insulin intake. Now, 4 separate projects are designed to be the “potential last steps” toward requesting regulatory approval for permanent use of a fully automated system, according to NIDDK. The research studies beginning this year will look at safety, efficacy, user-friendliness, physical and emotional health of participants, and cost. The participants will live at home and monitor themselves with remote monitoring by study staff.
“Nearly 100 years since the discovery of insulin,” said NIDDK Director Dr. Griffin P. Rodgers, “a successful artificial pancreas would mark another huge step toward better health for people with type 1 diabetes.”