Glucose

Researchers at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have reversed diabetes in mice using a compound that is made naturally in the body. After diabetic mice were given the naturally occurring compound, called nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN), their normal blood sugar metabolism was restored. The researchers say their findings suggest it might one day be possible for people to take the compound like a daily vitamin to treat or prevent type 2 diabetes. Read More

While there’s no denying that implantable medical devices such as pacemakers save peoples’ lives, powering those implants is still a tricky business. The batteries in a standard pacemaker, for instance, are said to last for about eight years – after that, surgery is required to access the device. Implants such as heart pumps are often powered by batteries that can be recharged from outside the body, but these require a power cord that protrudes through the patient’s skin, and that keeps them from being able to swim or bathe. Now, however, scientists at Germany’s University of Freiburg are developing biological fuel cells, that could draw power for implants from the patient’s own blood sugar. Read More

If a just-announced research project is successful, then maybe – just maybe – diabetics will finally be free of having to perform daily finger prick blood tests and insulin injections. Based on new findings regarding the body’s production of insulin, Mayo Clinic endocrinologists Yogish Kudva and Ananda Basu are in the process of developing an artificial pancreas, that would automatically deliver the hormone when needed. Read More

With the number of apps in Apple’s App Store standing at more than 250,000 it’s no surprise that there are a number of diabetes-related apps amongst them. Such apps require users to manually enter information such as glucose numbers, carbohydrate consumption, insulin dosages and activities to allow diabetics to better control the disease. A new plug-in attachment for the iPhone and iPod touch called the iBGStar takes things one step further by incorporating a blood glucose meter that allows users to view and analyze readings in ‘real time’. Read More

For most sufferers of type 1 diabetes pricking their fingers several times a day to draw blood for testing is an annoying (and often painful), but necessary part of life. It is essential to keep an eye on blood glucose levels because too much sugar can damage organs, while too little deprives the body of necessary fuel. To minimize that pain and inconvenience, researchers at MIT’s Spectroscopy Laboratory are working on a noninvasive way to measure blood glucose levels using light. Read More

The miniaturization of electrical sensors coupled with the development of flexible silicon technology paves the way for a wide variety of medical sensors that can be implanted into the human body. One of the major obstacles facing the development of such devices, not to mention artificial organs, is how they are powered. Currently devices need to be constantly recharged via an external power source or, as is the case with battery-powered pacemakers, replaced altogether. Now a team of French researchers has implanted a new type of biofuel cell into rats that overcomes these problems by generating electricity from a potentially limitless source - sugar in the rat’s bodies. Read More

An artificial pancreas system being developed by scientists at Cambridge in the UK could help safely manage type 1 diabetes in children.The artificial pancreas combines a commercially available continuous glucose monitor and an insulin pump, and uses a sophisticated algorithm which calculates the correct amount of insulin to deliver based on real-time glucose readings. Read More

Researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine have unraveled a molecular puzzle to reveal why a lower-calorie diet slows the development of some age-related conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, as well as the aging process itself. In their search for an answer they discovered that it doesn’t seem to matter how the diet is restricted – whether fats, proteins or carbohydrates are cut – to produce protective effects against aging and disease. Read More

Diabetes care specialist Arkray recently announced that it has received clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its Glucocard Vital blood glucose monitoring system. The tester, which consists of a meter and test strip, is very accurate, requires a tiny drop of blood, takes as little as seven seconds and has a unique glucose oxydase (GO) strip chemistry that is reportedly not affected by interferences that cause testing errors in other common test strips. Read More