Artificial Pancreas Improves Blood Sugar Control for Kids and Adults

A new study found that blood sugar levels and time required to reach the target blood sugar range were consistent across all ages using an artificial pancreas.

A new combined analysis of three clinical trials conducted at the University of Virginia Center for Diabetes Technology showed that the newly developed artificial pancreas system can improve blood sugar control for people aged from 2 to 72 years with type 1 diabetes.

Across the three trials, participants using the Artificial Pancreas spent an average of 2.8 more hours per day in their target blood sugar range compared with participants in control groups who used standard methods for managing their blood sugar.

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Manufactured by Tandem Diabetes Care and sold as the Control-IQ system, the artificial pancreas is a diabetes-management solution that automatically monitors and regulates blood glucose. The analysis of the new system has been published in the journal Diabetes Technology & Therapeutics.

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‘The Control-IQ artificial pancreas system automatically monitors and regulates blood glucose levels in both kids and adults with diabetes.’

The device has an insulin pump that uses advanced control algorithms based on the person’s glucose-monitoring information to adjust the insulin dose as needed. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the system for people ages 6 and older with type 1 diabetes.

The new analysis was based on findings from 369 participants ages 2 to 72 who joined trials at eight U.S. sites, including UVA Health. Among those participants, 256 were assigned to use the artificial pancreas system, with the remaining 113 assigned to a control group.

On average, the time participants using the artificial pancreas spent within their target blood glucose range was 13 percentage points higher than for participants in the control group. Benefits were seen both during the day and at night, though there was greater improvement overnight.

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Participants using the artificial pancreas spent significantly more time within their target blood sugar range within one day of beginning to use the system. The artificial pancreas also significantly decreased participants’ hemoglobin A1c (average blood sugar) levels.

The average hemoglobin A1c levels of system users dropped from 7.5% to 7%, compared with a decrease from 7.6% to 7.5% in the control groups. The improvements in both hemoglobin A1c levels and time spent were consistent across all ages, as well as across racial and ethnic groups and regardless of household income level and how participants had previously managed their diabetes.

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All subgroups in these studies, regardless of age, ethnicity, education, or previous pump experience, benefitted from Control-IQ technology. It is clear from these results, which are consistent with real-life data from thousands of current Control-IQ technology users, that this technology should be strongly considered as an option for anyone living with type 1 diabetes.

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Source-Eurekalert