PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Mayo Clinic developing artificial pancreas to ease diabetes burden

2011-06-25
(Press-News.org) ROCHESTER, Minn. -- The 25.8 million Americans who have diabetes may soon be free of finger pricks and daily insulin dosing. Mayo Clinic endocrinologists Yogish Kudva, M.B.B.S., and Ananda Basu, M.B.B.S., M.D., are developing an artificial pancreas that will deliver insulin automatically and with an individualized precision never before possible.

As part of this effort, Drs. Kudva and Basu will present their latest findings on how the mundane movements of everyday life affect blood sugar to the American Diabetes Association (http://www.diabetes.org/) meeting this month in San Diego.

"The effects of low-intensity physical activity, mimicking activities of daily living, measured with precise accelerometers on glucose variability in type 1 diabetes had not been examined," says Dr. Kudva.

Among his newest findings is that even basic physical activity after meals has a profound impact on blood sugar levels for people with type 1 diabetes (http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/type-1-diabetes/DS00329). "You would expect this result, but we wanted to know to what extent this phenomena would happen in people with type 1 diabetes," Dr. Kudva says.

Diabetics who engaged in low-grade physical activity after eating had blood sugar (http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/blood-sugar/MM00641) levels close to those of people with fully functioning pancreases. Those who remained sedentary after their meal, however, had elevated blood sugars.

The researchers plan to incorporate these findings into an artificial pancreas being developed at Mayo Clinic. The "Closed Loop System" under development includes a blood sugar monitor, an automatic insulin pump, a set of activity monitors that attach to the body and a central processing unit.

Clinical trials of the artificial pancreases are likely to begin in November with a handful of inpatient volunteers. Study participants will follow strict diet, exercise and insulin-delivery regimens in Mayo's Clinical Research Unit (http://ctsa.mayo.edu/resources/clinical-research-unit.html). Data will then be fed into an insulin-delivery algorithm, which mimics the body's natural process of monitoring and responding to glucose levels in the bloodstream.

"Physical activity enhances insulin action, hence lowering blood glucose concentration," Dr. Kudva says. "Real-time detection of physical activity -- and modeling of its effect on glucose dynamics -- is vital to design an automatic insulin delivery system."

Dr. Kudva and other Mayo researchers have spent nearly 15 years working on various aspects of diabetes and obesity (http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/obesity/DS00314). They are collaborating on the artificial pancreas and developing an algorithm that will afford patients the peace of mind to eliminate their daily routine of diabetes maintenance.

Dr. Basu will present findings that blood sugar levels decrease faster in the mornings in healthy adults than at dinner time, suggesting a diurnal pattern to natural insulin action. He proposes further study of this phenomenon and possible incorporation into the algorithm that drives the Closed Loop System.

INFORMATION:

The research has been funded by grants from the National Institutes of Health.

About Mayo Clinic

Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit worldwide leader in medical care, research and education for people from all walks of life. For more information, visit http://www.mayoclinic.org/about/ and www.mayoclinic.org/news.

END



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

New breast cancer risk model quantifies the impact of risk reduction

2011-06-25
How much can a woman lower her risk of breast cancer by losing weight, drinking less, or exercising more? A study published online June 24 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute describes a new model to estimate the impact of these lifestyle changes on absolute breast cancer risk, suggesting risk reductions that could translate into a substantial number of prevented cancers across an entire population. Breast cancer risk models are widely used to estimate a woman's chances of developing the disease. These are based on non-modifiable risk factors such as age and ...

Fermilab experiment weighs in on neutrino mystery

Fermilab experiment weighs in on neutrino mystery
2011-06-25
Scientists of the MINOS experiment at the Department of Energy's Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory announced today (June 24) the results from a search for a rare phenomenon, the transformation of muon neutrinos into electron neutrinos. The result is consistent with and significantly constrains a measurement reported 10 days ago by the Japanese T2K experiment, which announced an indication of this type of transformation. The results of these two experiments could have implications for our understanding of the role that neutrinos may have played in the evolution of ...

June 2011 Geosphere highlights

2011-06-25
Boulder, CO, USA - The June 2011 GEOSPHERE announces a new themed issue: Tectonics, volcanism, and stratigraphy within the evolving transform margin north of San Francisco Bay, California. The issue also includes a contribution to an existing theme, Advances in 3D Imaging and Analysis of Geomaterials, and features several articles not associated with a specific theme. Highlights are provided below. Representatives of the media may obtain complementary copies of any GEOSPHERE article by contacting Christa Stratton at the address above. Please discuss articles of interest ...

Newspaper archives help to understand coastal flooding along the South of England

Newspaper archives help to understand coastal flooding along the South of England
2011-06-25
A unique study using over 70 years of information from local newspapers has helped to examine the incidence and location of coastal floods in the Solent region of southern England. Coastal flood events in the Solent have been common over the last 70 years and are often associated with the highest sea levels. A significant number of events with severe impacts have been identified, with repeated damage and disruption at certain locations. Using newly digitised sea-level data for the ports of Southampton (1935�) and Portsmouth (1961�) on the south coast ...

Parcel2Go's New Service from City Link Ensures Quick and Affordable Next Day Deliveries for Business and Personal Customers

2011-06-25
The UK Courier service leader Parcel2Go has added City Link's Standard service, bringing an affordable and comprehensive delivery service starting at just GBP7.99 + VAT to the parcel delivery specialist's customers. A courier service that is familiar to many UK businesses and online shoppers, City Link have become a firm favourite with customers at Parcel2Go.com and the addition of the new Standard delivery service that offers same day parcel collections at an incredibly attractive price has the customer that wants a low cost, high performing parcel delivery solution. Whether ...

More than 300 new species discovered in the Philippines by California Academy of Sciences

More than 300 new species discovered in the Philippines by California Academy of Sciences
2011-06-25
This spring, scientists from the California Academy of Sciences braved leeches, lionfish, whip-scorpions and a wide variety of other biting and stinging creatures to lead the most comprehensive scientific survey effort ever conducted in the Philippines, documenting both terrestrial and marine life forms from the tops of the highest mountains to the depths of the sea. They were joined on this unprecedented, multi-disciplinary undertaking by more than two dozen colleagues from the Philippines, as well as by a team of Academy educators who worked to share the expedition's ...

Introducing Pinpoint, the Easiest Way to Point, Store, & Share Your Personal Locations

2011-06-25
Pinpoint, LLC announces the launch of Pinpoint, an innovative web application that allows people to point, store, and share their personal locations with the world. Pinpoint will save businesses and people time by enabling them to create pins on a map. Users can give each pin its own customized URL, which makes referring back to a particular place easier than ever! Businesses can also use their office pin as an alternative to their postal address. "I invented Pinpoint when I found myself searching the same place over and over again on Google Maps and sending ...

Humpback whales catch prey with bubble-nets

2011-06-25
Marine biologist David Wiley of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and others report in the latest issue of Behaviour (Volume 148, Nos. 5-6) how humpback whales in the Gulf of Maine catch prey with advanced water technology. Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) are large baleen whales (up to 14 m long) that feed on a small prey in dense concentrations, such as krill or herrings. Humpbacks whales have large flukes relative to their size providing greater thrust for quick maneuvers. While other baleen whales feed by swimming rapidly forward, ...

Pollinators make critical contribution to healthy diets

Pollinators make critical contribution to healthy diets
2011-06-25
Fruits and vegetables that provide the highest levels of vitamins and minerals to the human diet globally depend heavily on bees and other pollinating animals, according to a new study published in the international online journal PLoS ONE. The new study was carried out by an interdisciplinary research team, comprised of pollination ecologists and a nutrition expert, based at the Leuphana University of Lüneburg, the University of Berlin in Germany, and the University of California at Berkeley and San Francisco. The research team showed that globally "animal-pollinated ...

URALCHEM Holding P.L.C. Reports the First Quarter of Year 2011 IFRS Financial Results

2011-06-25
URALCHEM Holding P.L.C., one of the largest producers of nitrogen and phosphate fertilisers in Russia, today announced its unaudited IFRS financial results for the 1st Quarter of 2011 ending 31 March 2011. - Revenue increased to US $ 566 million, compared to US $ 325 million in Q1 2010 - Operating profit increased to US $ 160 million, compared with US $ 39 million in Q1 2010 - Adjusted EBITDA grew to US $ 186 million, compared to US $ 66 million in Q1 2010 - Net profit amounted to US $ 161 million compared to US $ 19 million in Q1 2010 URALCHEM Holding P.L.C. (hereinafter ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Smarter tools for policymakers: Notre Dame researchers target urban carbon emissions, building by building

Here’s how we help an iconic California fish survive the gauntlet of today’s highly modified waterways

New technique can dramatically improve laser linewidth

Forest trees and microbes choreograph their hunt for a ‘balanced diet’ under elevated CO2

Beyond health: The political effects of infectious disease outbreaks

For tastier and hardier citrus, researchers built a tool for probing plant metabolism

Stay hydrated: New sensor knows when you need a drink

Quantum internet meets space-time in this new ingenious idea

Soil erosion in mountain environments accelerated by agro-pastoral activities for 3,800 years

Optogenetic platform illuminates new antiviral strategies

A new theory explaining oscillations in tunnel magnetoresistance (TMR)

Early antibiotics alter immune function in infants

With the second grant to therapy

Research center developing digital twins for manufacturing

Colombia’s biofortified rice has untapped potential to improve nutrition. And consumers want it

Study shows pregnancy can significantly worsen risk of serious brain injury in women with arteriovenous malformations

Mapping important infrastructure could aid emergency response after hurricanes

Nighttime pistachio snacking may reshape gut microbiome in prediabetic adults

Friendship promotes neural and behavioral similarity

Neural pathway for nicotine withdrawal symptoms

How your DNA reveals your true age with astonishing accuracy

First electronic–photonic quantum chip created in commercial foundry

High-performance scientific computing can compute molecule ground-state energy

Cryo-electron microscopy – Reaction cycle of an enzyme for CO2 fixation decoded

Feeling more extroverted? Study finds you may have learned how to handle daily stress better

Kindness counts—even to a five-day-old baby

Endocrine Society guideline calls for increased screening for common cause of high blood pressure

Macromolecular gene delivery systems: advancing non-viral therapeutics with synthetic and natural polymers

Study finds political instability, environmental conditions, and social inequality accelerate aging

New insights into malaria: Proteins in the blood can reveal the severity of the disease

[Press-News.org] Mayo Clinic developing artificial pancreas to ease diabetes burden