This press release is copyrighted by The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE). Its use is granted only to journalists and news media. Embargo date: 26 March 2002, 5:00 p.m. ET.
Imagine sticking yourself with a pin on the pad of your finger tip up to seven times a day. It's an unpleasant idea, but that is exactly what is now being asked of many diabetics. Several large clinical studies have shown that tight control of blood sugar--requiring multiple blood samples to provide feedback needed for insulin dosing and other treatment--decreases the progression and development of long-term complications of diabetes, such as blindness and kidney failure. Apart from the pain, tight control also comes with a risk of severe hypoglycemia--low blood sugar that can lead to coma or seizure--due to excessive or ill-timed insulin injections. New glucose metering technologies are just arriving that should provide relatively painless and much safer blood sugar control.
Several companies are rushing to pull down the barriers to tight glucose control with devices that all but eliminate the need for blood samples. In June of 1999, an implantable sensor made by Medtronic Minimed Inc. (Northridge, Calif.) that provides continuous readings became the first alternative glucose monitor to gain approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. And Cygnus Inc. (Redwood City, Calif.) followed in March 2001 with its own device, which monitors glucose continuously through the skin.
A great many innovative technologies have been proposed, but only a fraction of those are in advanced stages of development. Those in the development stage fall into three categories: implantable monitors, transdermal (through the skin) meters, and those depending on how glucose interacts with light. In the April issue of IEEE Spectrum, Janet A. Tamada, director of research at Cygnus, and her colleagues describe the inner workings and advantages of each.
Implantable monitors, such as the Medtronic device, include a sensor that is inserted beneath the skin and can record a patient's glucose levels continuously for days. Transdermal sampling is analogous to the nicotine skin patch, except that the molecule of interest, glucose, is moving out of, rather than into, the body. The skin is normally a formidable barrier, so transdermal technologies, such as the one developed by Cygnus, require some type of transport enhancer to obtain a sufficient sample for analysis. Techniques to enhance transport include using electric current, acoustic energy, chemicals, or the making of microscopic holes in the skin with a laser or a blast of fine particles. Other methods search for glucose's unique color signature in light that is passed through a thin piece of tissue such as the ear lobe.
Greater convenience and less pain will encourage people to test more frequently, providing previously unobtainable information on glucose trends in response to insulin dosage and other treatments. Monitors that provide frequent, automatic readings can also have preset alarms to warn the user of high or low glucose levels. Parents of children with diabetes can be warned of overnight low glucose, rather than waking nightly to check their child's blood sugar. These advantages will lead to better treatment decisions and ultimately reduce the long-term medical complications of diabetes.
Contact: Samuel K. Moore, 212 419 7921, [email protected].For a faxed copy of the complete article ("Keeping Watch on Glucose" by Janet A. Tamada, Matthew Lesho, and Michael J. Tierney, Cygnus Inc., IEEE Spectrum, April 2002, pp. 52-55) or to arrange an interview, contact: Nancy T. Hantman, 212 419 7561, [email protected].
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