In the News... CGM in space, diet and type 1 diabetes study, GLP-1 gel in development, and more!

It’s In the News! A look at the top diabetes stories and headlines happening now. Top stories this week: Dexcom CGM is worn in space, two over-the-counter CGMs are now available, a large new study looks at potential dietary causes of type 1, and researchers are looking at a gel version of GLP-1 medications.

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Episode transcription with links:

 

Hello and welcome to Diabetes Connections In the News! I’m Stacey Simms and every other Friday I bring you a short episode with the top diabetes stories and headlines happening now.

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Astronauts on the Polaris-Dawn mission are wearing the Dexcom G6 CGM.

Polaris Dawn launched this week with astronauts wearing the G6 to better understand the effects of spaceflight on human health. The crew intends to conduct research to advance human health on Earth and the understanding of health during long-duration spaceflights.

“This health research-driven mission marks another first for Dexcom, with our industry-leading CGMs being worn by astronauts in outer space,” said Jake Leach, EVP and COO at Dexcom. “We are thrilled to play a role in building a future where people with diabetes are empowered to accomplish anything they set their minds to–including the possibility of exploring outer space–without being held back by their condition.”

Over five days in space, the Polaris Dawn crew plans to conduct around 40 scientific experiments. That includes several aimed at better understanding the effects of spaceflight on glucose health. Labront, a platform assisting health researchers in collecting and analyzing physiological data, is collaborating with Dexcom. It plans to provide advanced analytics for the data collected by the crew.

 

According to a news release, the mission expects to explore how microgravity, fluid shifts, and blood flow restriction exercises impact glucose regulation.

https://www.drugdeliverybusiness.com/dexcom-cgm-outer-space-polaris-dawn/

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There are now two OTC CGMs.. Dexcom launched Stelo a few weeks ago and now Abbott says Lingo is for sale. They’re both available on the companies’ websites, cost about the same, but you can opt to buy only one Lingo where Stelo comes in pairs. Lingo is meant for people without diabetes – it’s a health bio sensor. Abbott has another CGM called Libre Rio meant for people with type 2 who don’t take insulin. Not a lot of details about what the real difference are here – likely just in the software – No word on when Rio will be available.

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/09/05/-abbott-launches-its-first-over-the-counter-continuous-glucose-monitor-in-the-us.html

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Warning about flying with an insulin pump – And I want to be clear here because I’m sure you’ll see some scary headlines. This is really about pressure emergencies in planes. For the study, researchers tested 26 insulin pumps in a hypobaric chamber programmed to mimic the atmospheric changes during a normal commercial airline flight.

“The drop in cabin pressure during ascent may lead to a slight increase in insulin delivery as a result of the formation of air bubbles which displace excess insulin out of the cartridge,” Fan said in a meeting news release. “A slight reduction in insulin delivery is also possible during descent as the increasing air pressure dissolves the air bubbles, sucking insulin back into the pump.”

People on insulin pumps could be in real trouble in the event of rapid decompression of the cabin at altitude, researchers said. In that case, the pumps could deliver an insulin overdose -- dropping blood sugar levels so much that there’s a significant risk of hypoglycemia, results show.

These researchers recommend disconnecting and reconnect at take off and landing, but that’s not going to help if there is emergency rapid decompression. As always, be prepared with emergency glucagon and low snacks and supplies.

https://www.healthday.com/health-news/diabetes/flying-could-upset-insulin-pump-function-for-type-1-diabetics

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Lilly moves forward with it’s version of once weekly basal insulin. Clinical trials show it can help control both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes as well as daily basal injections do. However, in those with type 1 diabetes, there was an increased risk for hypoglycemia. 

This is the same issue with Novo Nordisk’s Awiqli insulin – approved in Canada but not in the United States.

https://www.upi.com/Health_News/2024/09/11/weekly-insulin-injections-effective-diabetes-weekly/8711726068680/

https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/once-weekly-insulin-looks-good-t2d-risk-seen-t1d-2024a1000gh8

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Eating what seems like really healthy foods could be associated with a higher risk of developing type 1 diabetes. New study shows that eating fruit, oats and rye in childhood is associated with a higher risk of developing type 1 diabetes (T1D). Eating berries, however, is linked to lower odds of developing the condition.

What triggers the immune system's attack is unknown but is thought to involve a combination of a genetic predisposition and an environmental trigger such as a virus or foodstuff.

T1D, the most common form of diabetes in children, is increasing worldwide. The number of cases worldwide is projected to double in just 20 years, from 8.4 million in 2021 to 17.4 million by 2040. Finland has the highest incidence of T1D globally, with 52.2 cases per 100,000 children under the age of 15 – more than five times higher than in the 1950s.

5,674 children (3,010 boys and 2,664 girls) with genetic susceptibility to T1D were followed from birth to the age of six. Food records completed by their parents repeatedly from the age of three months to 6 years provided information on the entire diet.

 

The 34 food groups covered the entire diet and, when they were all factored in, several foods were associated with a higher risk of developing T1D.

 

To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time a child's entire diet has been considered at the same time."

The results show that the more fruit, oats or rye children ate, the more their risk of T1D increased. In contrast, eating strawberries, blueberries, lingonberries, raspberries, blackcurrants and other berries appeared to provide protection against T1D. The more berries a child ate, the less likely they were to develop T1D.

Oats, bananas, fermented dairy products (such as yogurts) and wheat were associated with an increased risk of islet autoimmunity, whereas cruciferous vegetables, such as broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage, were associated with decreased risk.

It is, however, too early to make any dietary recommendations. The researchers are quick to point out that they don’t really know the “why” here. Could be the food itself, could be pesticides, and until the results are replicated they urge parents not to change their child’s diet.

https://www.news-medical.net/news/20240909/Eating-fruit-oats-and-rye-in-childhood-may-increase-type-1-diabetes-risk.aspx

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Researchers in France have developed a once-a-month hydrogel-based delivery system for semaglutide, significantly simplifying diabetes and weight management

Semaglutide, marketed as Ozempic, Rybelsus, and Wegovy, is a GLP-1 receptor agonist that helps to regulate blood sugar levels and promote weight loss. This medication is especially effective in managing type 2 diabetes and is available in both injectable and oral forms. Semaglutide enhances the body’s natural ability to control blood glucose and reduce appetite, providing a dual approach to treatment.

 

 

The new hydrogel delivery platform uses two innovative degradable polymers that are chemically bound to one another to form a gel, but allow slow, sustained release of soluble peptides over 1 to 3 months. How do you slow release a gel? With an injection. It goes under the skin. This is still in animal studies, so we’re a ways off from human clinical trials.

https://scitechdaily.com/new-semaglutide-hydrogel-say-goodbye-to-weekly-shots-for-diabetes-and-weight-loss/

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Edgepark Commercial

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Embecta has received clearance from the Food and Drug Administration for its first insulin patch pump.

The device can be used by people with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes and worn for up to three days. It includes a 300-unit insulin reservoir.

Embecta said Tuesday it plans to develop a closed-loop version of the pump for automated insulin dosing that it will submit to the FDA in the future using the Tidepool Loop algorithm.

Earlier this summer, Insulet received FDA clearance to offer its Omnipod 5 pump to people with Type 2 diabetes. Diabetes tech firms have focused on Type 2 in recent years as insurance coverage improves.

https://www.medtechdive.com/news/embecta-gets-fda-nod-for-insulin-patch-pump/725904/

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An artificial intelligence (AI)–driven voice algorithm showed "excellent agreement" with the American Diabetes Association (ADA) risk test in detecting adults with type 2 diabetes (T2D), research presented at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) 2024 Annual Meeting revealed.

 

The AI model detected T2D with 66% accuracy among women and 71% in men, and there was 93% agreement with the questionnaire-based ADA risk score, demonstrating comparable performance between voice analysis and an accepted screening tool.

 

The Colive Voice project includes volunteers from all over the world; however, the current study was restricted to adults from the United States, both with and without T2D,

"This first proof of concept was limited to English speakers, and further research will need to enroll more diverse populations, in terms of languages and sociodemographic background," he said.

"This study represents a first step toward using voice analysis as a first-line, highly scalable T2D screening strategy," the authors concluded.

"The next studies will have to demonstrate the robustness of our approach in diverse populations and also include people living with prediabetes," Fagherazzi said. "If proven reliable, we expect such technology to be available in the next 5-10 years. Then, it could be deployed easily at scale in millions of smartphones worldwide and reduce undiagnosed diabetes cases."

https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/ai-voice-analysis-diabetes-screening-shows-promise-2024a1000ggw

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