CGM devices found to reduce hypos in type 1 diabetes with hypo unawareness

[DCUK NewsBot]

More positive research has emerged supporting the effectiveness of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) devices for people with type 1 diabetes. A German study has shown the pioneering technology can help reduce the number of hypos (low blood sugar levels) in patients with a recent history of either hypo unawareness or severe hypo episodes. Hypo unawareness is when people are unable to identify symptoms of low blood sugar levels, which can lead to very low blood sugar levels and increase the risk of a severe hypo. A severe hypo requires treatment from someone else and can lead to seizures or unconsciousness, and should be treated as a medical emergency. CGM kits are less invasive compared to finger pricking and can be used in conjunction with an insulin pump. They operate 24 hours a day and include alarms that can be set to indicate when glucose levels are either too high or too low. Researchers from the Diabetes Academy Mergentheim in Bad Mergentheim, Germany, recruited 149 people with type 1 diabetes for the trial, all of whom had a record in the last year of either hypo unawareness or an episode of severe hypo. All participants were asked to check their blood sugar levels via finger pricking for the first 28 days and wear a CGM without being able to view the data recorded. They were then randomly split into two groups for a six-month period. One group continued using the finger-pricking blood glucose test to monitor their diabetes and the other group used the CGM devices with full access to the data and alarms. The findings showed the number of hypos fell from an average 10.8 episodes per 28 days to just 3.5 in the CGM group, whereas there was no change in the finger pricking group. By the last month of the trial, 33% of the CGM group had not experienced any hypoglycemia episodes, compared with only 7.6% in the other group. The CGM group also experienced a reduction in night-time hypos. The researchers concluded that using CGM devices "reduced the number of hypoglycemic events in individuals with type 1 diabetes treated by multiple daily insulin injections and with impaired hypoglycemia awareness or severe hypoglycemia." The study and an accompanying editorial have both been published in The Lancet.

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[fmacd]

That is good news and utterly unsurprising. I understand that we are at a (fairly) early stage with CGM devices, despite them having been around for some time now for those who want/need to pay for them. However it has proven very difficult to convince health boards that these are probably cheaper to use for regular testers (ie 6 plus times daily) than strips. For the past few months I've been told at my local hospital that 'they are not accurate enough' despite there being a push to have them available on the NHS. Often trying to get anything that's easier to use for Type 1 diabetics or something that's simply more intuitive, feels like walking through deep mud, that slow and that frustrating. Even the so-called 'modern' pumps feel like you're using an ancient brick mobile rather than a smartphone. Have to confess I whooped with joy when I heard that a certain computer/phone manufacturer was working on something for glucose monitoring of Type 1s. I know, yet another company set to make money out of us, but at least they will use decent, and more to the point, up-to-the-minute technology. My breath is baited...

 

[Key_master_]

That is good news and utterly unsurprising. I understand that we are at a (fairly) early stage with CGM devices, despite them having been around for some time now for those who want/need to pay for them. However it has proven very difficult to convince health boards that these are probably cheaper to use for regular testers (ie 6 plus times daily) than strips. For the past few months I've been told at my local hospital that 'they are not accurate enough' despite there being a push to have them available on the NHS. Often trying to get anything that's easier to use for Type 1 diabetics or something that's simply more intuitive, feels like walking through deep mud, that slow and that frustrating. Even the so-called 'modern' pumps feel like you're using an ancient brick mobile rather than a smartphone. Have to confess I whooped with joy when I heard that a certain computer/phone manufacturer was working on something for glucose monitoring of Type 1s. I know, yet another company set to make money out of us, but at least they will use decent, and more to the point, up-to-the-minute technology. My breath is baited...

Wonders when said company will if it’s the same one I’m thinking off as well. It sounds a bit like a fruit I used to eat before going low carb but can’t anymore (haha!!) theres been rumours for for some years now from said company who were coming out with a painless way to have continuous glucose monitoring to just roll out a Dexcom app on the watch instead of their own which clearly is just two companies seriously coining in the cash off diabetics.