New drugs, treatment make diabetes management easier
TNN | Apr 13, 2016, 01.10 AM IST
Chennai:
Many people with diabetes have to suffer several needle pricks a day-
they have to get their fingers jabbed for routine blood tests and take
insulin shots to keep their sugar level under control.
Scientists are now trying to reduce the daily discomfort and pain for people with diabetes by advising them to use sensors and devices to check their sugar levels. One such solution is the ambulatory glucose profiler, which works on a coin-sized sensor, and gives 1,400 readings. "You stick it on your upper arm for 15 days. The doctor can remove the sensor and pass it through a reader to get the readings and graphs," said diabetologist Dr V Mohan. He said technology was changing healthcare, and an example is how a device like Google Glass can give readings by scanning iris.
It
is not just monitoring, even drug delivery can be non-invasive. Insulin
pumps, in existence for about three decades as an alternative to
multiple daily injections of insulin, are being improved. "Monitoring
devices can be attached to these pumps to switch them on and off
automatically. Prototypes of pumps that can manage high and low blood
sugar levels have been developed," Dr Mohan said.
On Tuesday, a company announced in Chennai an injectible drug that can delay a diabetic's switchover from tablets to insulin shots. Edgard Olaizola, MD, Lilly India, said the drug is the first injectible when a patient is not able to keep the sugar under control with oral medication. "It has a molecule that mimics the effects of GLP-1, a hormone that helps keep the sugar level normal by helping the body release its insulin," he said. India has around 65 million diabetics. A paper published recently in Lancet found that 15.3% of adults with diabetes are from India. The paper, based on data from 751 studies, involving 4.4 million adults from 200 countries, showed that the prevalence of diabetes has increased 80% in women and more than doubled in men in the country.
Scientists are now trying to reduce the daily discomfort and pain for people with diabetes by advising them to use sensors and devices to check their sugar levels. One such solution is the ambulatory glucose profiler, which works on a coin-sized sensor, and gives 1,400 readings. "You stick it on your upper arm for 15 days. The doctor can remove the sensor and pass it through a reader to get the readings and graphs," said diabetologist Dr V Mohan. He said technology was changing healthcare, and an example is how a device like Google Glass can give readings by scanning iris.
On Tuesday, a company announced in Chennai an injectible drug that can delay a diabetic's switchover from tablets to insulin shots. Edgard Olaizola, MD, Lilly India, said the drug is the first injectible when a patient is not able to keep the sugar under control with oral medication. "It has a molecule that mimics the effects of GLP-1, a hormone that helps keep the sugar level normal by helping the body release its insulin," he said. India has around 65 million diabetics. A paper published recently in Lancet found that 15.3% of adults with diabetes are from India. The paper, based on data from 751 studies, involving 4.4 million adults from 200 countries, showed that the prevalence of diabetes has increased 80% in women and more than doubled in men in the country.
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