Science has been figuring out ways to sidestep those dreaded finger pricks for years now, but it's not often that we hear of such a permanent solution as this. A crew of researchers from The University of Tokyo and BEANS Research Institute are in the process of developing a newfangled blood sugar sensor that "reacts to glucose and lights up inside the body." 'Course, injecting dyes into humans in order to receive interpretable signals ain't exactly new, but hydrogel is what makes this approach unique. As the story goes, this jelly-esque material can be implanted within the body, enabling blood sugar levels to be monitored and measured externally with no pain or irritation whatsoever. In theory, a monitoring system could trigger an alert as soon as the internal levels dipped or rose beyond a predetermined extreme, giving those with diabetes a maximum amount of time to get things back in balance. There's nary a mention of when this goo will be green-lit by the FDA, but there's definitely a video explaining everything just past the break.
@cadcoke5 I know I'm late on this but engadget just emailed me about a comment I made above. It's a fact proven by research and touted by the American Diabetes Associate that obesity and lack of physical activity are two of the most common causes of this form of diabetes. That doesn't mean they are the only two causes, however.
As for why some overweight people do not respond to weight loss, our bodies can only take so much before they do not function anymore. This limit is different for different people. I am going to simplify, but when you are overweight, your pancreas has to work extra hard to make enough insulin, and you may not be as sensitive to insulin. That means it's producing insulin and not seeing any results. Eventually, your pancreas will give up making insulin all together. This is why diabetics with type 2 can start with metformin or some other oral drug but, if they live long enough without losing weight, they will generally all have to take insulin. At first their pancreases can make enough insulin, but they slowly lose that ability.
That is the most common reason why sometimes weight loss doesn't help. Though, that's not to say all people are obese because of overeating. In my experience, most people are obese because of poor lifestyles, though.
My wife has Type 1 Diabetes and this would help tremendously. However, I have been following a Canadian company called Sernova Corp. (www.sernova.com - TSX stock symbol:SVA) that has an actual CURE for Diabetes all together. They just signed a deal with a major global pharmaceutical company to bring it to market.
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posted August 7th 2010 6:53AM
@cadcoke5 I know I'm late on this but engadget just emailed me about a comment I made above. It's a fact proven by research and touted by the American Diabetes Associate that obesity and lack of physical activity are two of the most common causes of this form of diabetes. That doesn't mean they are the only two causes, however.
As for why some overweight people do not respond to weight loss, our bodies can only take so much before they do not function anymore. This limit is different for different people. I am going to simplify, but when you are overweight, your pancreas has to work extra hard to make enough insulin, and you may not be as sensitive to insulin. That means it's producing insulin and not seeing any results. Eventually, your pancreas will give up making insulin all together. This is why diabetics with type 2 can start with metformin or some other oral drug but, if they live long enough without losing weight, they will generally all have to take insulin. At first their pancreases can make enough insulin, but they slowly lose that ability.
That is the most common reason why sometimes weight loss doesn't help. Though, that's not to say all people are obese because of overeating. In my experience, most people are obese because of poor lifestyles, though.
Now if only it could get rid of all the other pricks in my life!
My wife has Type 1 Diabetes and this would help tremendously. However, I have been following a Canadian company called Sernova Corp. (www.sernova.com - TSX stock symbol:SVA) that has an actual CURE for Diabetes all together. They just signed a deal with a major global pharmaceutical company to bring it to market.