The Progress of Diabetes Medication and Management

by moveforward on June 21, 2009

Diabetes is both a cumbersome and expensive disease to medicate and manage. In the first world, diabetes sufferers are determined by undergoing an array of tests that require fasting and blood samples for its efficacy. Day to day management of the disease is also a very complicated process. Firstly, one has to again draw blood and with the use of a strip and a device, the amount of blood glucose is determined. If the blood sugar level is high, one then needs to calculate the required amount of insulin to remedy the situation. This involves bringing out the syringe and needle. The diabetic then needs to get the correct dosage into the syringe and then inject the hormone into the body. Another way to go about it is with the use of an insulin pump that injects insulin automatically by intravenous means.

As you can see, diabetes medication and management is a full time occupation. Too many factors also come into play such as to the correct reading of the blood sugar level using a blood sugar meter, the correct dosage needed to be administered, the presence of other bacteria in the needles and syringe. These factors increase the risk and propensity for error and instead of helping manage the disease may even lead to many other complications for the individual. The risk is further increased by the fact that the lack of immediate medication leads to both immediate and long-term issues. So, by not doing and incorrectly managing and medicating diabetes, the sufferer only increases the risk of the grave condition progressing much more rapidly.

The Future is Now for Diabetics

The medical world is now in the process of developing many new technologies to manage diabetes. Aside from the many drugs in development, the many studies determining the cause for diabetes, there have been technological strides made for the management of diabetes. Here are some of the newest technologies that have been discovered that help in diabetes medication and management.

Pancreas Transplants. This has been tried in a number of type I diabetes patients and the study for its eventual development is ongoing. There have been reported cases of positive responses by diabetes sufferers to the transplanted pancreas. This positive results include the ability to produce their own insulin hormone. The major drawback is still the body’s autonomic rejection of the transplanted organ, which can easily be managed by taking anti-rejection medication. Between a lifetime of insulin injections and taking anti-rejection medication, this avenue is very appealing to many seeking to use this as their avenue for diabetes management.
Nanotechnology. This is very cutting edge technology as it is basically the creation of tiny microscopic devices and elements that would assist in the proper functioning of the pancreas or be the means to produce the amount of insulin required by the body. By making these nanobots part of one’s system, it would make the insulin production in the body and remove the need for intravenous means to address insulin requirements.
Wireless Technology for Diabetes Management. Here, the blood sugar meter would send information to the insulin pump to inject the right amount of insulin into the bloodstream. This removes the many steps that diabetics go through in getting a blood sample, measuring it, calculating the required dosage, measure the dosage and then injecting it into the body. Here the diabetic would only need to provide a blood sample and the blood glucose meter and insulin pump would do the rest of the work.
Optical Screening Devices for Diabetes. The regular way to determine if an individual is suffering from either pre-diabetes or actual diabetes is through blood glucose laboratory tests after fasting. Blood is then drawn out and the sample is run through tests to determine if the blood donor is on the borderline of contracting diabetes or already has it. This is both a costly and painful procedure and the new technology of optical screening removes the need for a blood sample and laboratory tests. The device uses differing wavelengths of light under the arm to isolate a protein in the skin called advanced glycation endproducts. These AGEs are present in diabetes sufferers and the presence of these end products in the skin signifies the predisposition or actual presence of diabetes. This is also helpful to prevent the development of the disease in the individual, if the diabetes is diagnosed in its earliest stages.
Portable Insulin Pumps in Everyday Items. A student from Germany by the name of Nicole Schmiedel has designed and developed an insulin pump that doubles as a wristwatch. The watch is self powered by a piezo electric transducer and the insulin pump gets its own power from this system. The watch contains insulin good for two to three weeks by the Type I diabetic. The pump is attached to the user with a thin tube and needle inserted under the skin to allow the insulin to flow freely into the bloodstream without ever needing injections again.

These devices and techniques are important for the health and comfort of the diabetes sufferer. It provides the means for the individual diabetes sufferer to maintain a normal lifestyle despite having to be limited by the management of the disease.

The Promise of New Technologies

The identified developments for diabetes medication and management are still in the design stage, but the research has already put the system in place. The next hurdle to manage is the cost of producing these promising devices for diabetics worldwide. These are but means to alleviate the condition of diabetes sufferers and to make them able to be regular people not hindered by the responsibilities and obligations of the disease. These devices would still incur cost for diabetics and diabetes sufferers have one of the highest medical bills. Ultimately, the goal is to find a cure for the condition but in the meantime, these new technologies serve to make diabetic life easier in day-to-day medication and management in the long run.