Wearable device helps reduce low blood sugar episodes

A new “flash” blood sugar monitoring system cuts down on episodes of low blood sugar in people with type 1 diabetes, researchers say.

Low-blood sugar, or hypoglycemia, can be dangerous in diabetics. Sometimes called an insulin reaction, or insulin shock, severe cases of hypoglycemia can lead to unconsciousness and seizures.

The new Freestyle Libre sensor, a small device that’s worn on the upper arm, automatically checks blood sugar every 15 minutes and stores the information. A separate reader device, when held close to the sensor, can display current glucose level, glucose readings over the past 8 hours, and whether glucose has been rising or falling. This can be repeated as often as desired.

Patients’ “marked increase in self-monitoring frequency” after they started using the Freestyle Libre device “resulted in an almost immediate reduction in hypoglycemia both during day- and night-time,” Dr. Jan Bolinder from Karolinska University Hospital in Stockholm, Sweden told Reuters Health by email.

Dr. Bolinder and colleagues from 23 European hospitals compared the new glucose monitoring technology to conventional self-monitoring of blood glucose for prevention of hypoglycemia in 239 adults whose type 1 diabetes was already well controlled… Read More>>

Source: Reuters