Diabetes is among the most troubling and widespread health issues in the U.S.
To keep this condition in check, you need to have consistent self-treatment and constant vigilance which is a big challenge for most people.
However, researchers have been working hard to find better management techniques and treatments for millions of people around the world who deal with diabetes. Below there are a few of the latest developments you must know about.
10 Latest Diabetes Breakthroughs
1. A Preventative Vaccine
The Finnish scientists are about to commence the first clinical trial for a preventative vaccine for type I diabetes. This is not considered to be a cure for those people who already have type I diabetes.
But this vaccine might potentially help prevent the development of thousands of cases each year. The target of this vaccine is a virus that is connected to the development of an autoimmune reaction found in the pancreas.
2. Homes of the Future Which Monitor Sugar Levels in People with Diabetes
One of the hottest trends when it comes to technology is home automation. However, this potential extends beyond entertainment and convenience. The leading figure in this field, Michael Maniscalco, provides a potent study.
After his son got his type I diabetes diagnosis, Maniscalco made a home automation setup that triggered the smart lighting in his house any time the blood sugar of his son was below a certain level.
This is how homeowners who have specific medical needs might use their systems to their full capacity. For instance, indoor cameras might remotely monitor loved ones or patients in case of an emergency.
Also, alarms might be programmed to identify if the sugar levels are low in an individual with diabetes.
This type of home automation comes with the potential to support disease management and monitoring in different potent ways, especially when in combination with smart health monitors.
3. Brand New Beta Cells
When an individual’s immunology system wipes out the beta cells that produce insulin in the pancreas, then the development of type I diabetes occurs.
However, it turns out that there is another type of immature beta cell in the pancreas. According to researchers, it may be possible to use these beta cells to restore the pancreas and its functionality.
4. Apps for Diabetes Management
These days there is an app for almost everything, and diabetes belongs here as well. A few apps help with diabetes management, and many others are currently in development.
Soon Sugar. IQ will bring the power of the IBM Watson artificial intelligence platform to the management of diabetes.
It will analyze sugar levels and other data to discover vital trends and to offer valuable guidance and insights that will help people with diabetes to have better management of their disease.
Similarly, Weizmann offers advanced analytics of data with the bonus of innovative sugar testing without blood samples.
Meanwhile, JDRF provides an all-in-one solution to help people with diabetes automatically fill logbooks, remember to take drugs as prescribed, test sugar levels, and much more.
5. Unique Transplant
A woman with serious type I diabetes spent one year without insulin injections, and she managed to do that because of an experimental transplant.
Doctors implanted cells that make insulin into the fatty membrane which is found in the stomach cavity. The success of these operations is paving the way towards more individuals getting artificial pancreas.
6. Longer-Lasting Drugs
Scientists have managed to make the GLP-1 last longer. They did that by making special molecules that dissolve slowly and carry the hormone. In animal tests, this new solution lasted up to 2 weeks from only 1 injection.
For individuals who manage their type II diabetes with shots daily, this might mean a lot.
7. Early Detection of Illness and Diabetes with Smart Watches
Detecting diabetes soon after its onset means easier treatment and much better outcomes. However, it can be problematic to detect the disease early. But for this smartwatches might offer a solution.
For example, individuals who are insulin resistant and at a bigger risk of having type II diabetes show particular heart rate patterns that differ from the general population.
Smartwatches can monitor these patterns and serve to alert the people at risk and offer an early warning.
8. Broccoli
In broccoli, there is a compound by the name sulforaphane. According to a 12-week study on participants with type II diabetes, this chemical was helpful when it came to regulating the blood glucose of the participants.
9. New Pancreas Tissue
Scientists say that they managed to reverse type I diabetes in mice by transplanting pancreatic tissue. This pancreatic tissue was grown with the help of stem cells from mice without diabetes.
This successful method might be a treatment for people as well, but there is a need for more research on this topic.
10. Smart Patch Delivers Insulin Without Needles
For those with type II or type I diabetes, the management of insulin is a big burden. It needs repeated and consistent monitoring of insulin with finger-prick testing and when necessary insulin injections.
Scientists have made a smart patch that monitors blood sugar and delivers automatically suitable insulin doses as necessary with the help of a painless delivery system made of an array of microneedles linked to small insulin pouches.
Although this particular small patch is in the testing phase, it is shown to be efficient during the initial testing.
Every discovery, every new step means new hope for people with diabetes around the world.
