ORLANDO, FL–(Marketwire – June 27, 2010) –  Research into whether an “artificial pancreas” can effectively control blood glucose levels in children and adults with type 1 diabetes continues to make rapid advances, leading those in the field to predict that technology could become commercially available within the next few years, according to speakers at a joint American Diabetes Association — Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) symposium at the Association’s 70^th Scientific Sessions^®.

Results, presented for the first time at today’s symposium, show that adults with type 1 diabetes can use the artificial pancreas technology to significantly improve overnight blood glucose control without increasing the risk for hypoglycemia, across a range of real-life situations — even after eating a large meal and drinking a glass of white wine. Lead researcher Roman Hovorka, Ph.D, Principal Research Associate at the University of Cambridge Metabolic Research Laboratories, noted that such a system could greatly improve the lives of those who are insulin-dependent.

A second study, also presented for the first time at the Association’s 70^th Scientific Sessions, helped to identify the psychosocial characteristics of people with type 1 diabetes most likely to successfully utilize continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) devices, an important component of an artificial pancreas system. This data, presented by Marilyn Ritholz, Ph.D, Senior Psychologist at the Joslin Diabetes Center and Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School, should help physicians and other diabetes care providers to identify patients for whom the new devices are most likely to be beneficial.

Both studies are part of the JDRF’S Artificial Pancreas Project, a partnership that brings together diabetes researchers and businesses focused on making the artificial pancreas a reality. The American Diabetes Association joined forces with JDRF at its Scientific Sessions to promote the research behind this project and to raise awareness of efforts underway to improve the lives of people with diabetes who are insulin-dependent.

“This joint symposium highlights how major organizations working together can move these technologies forward,” said Richard Bergenstal, MD, Executive Director of the International Diabetes Center and American Diabetes Association’s President, Medicine & Science. “It’s going to require collaboration between many different organizations to come together to tackle this problem.”

“It’s very exciting to work together to help people with diabetes achieve their outcomes,” said Aaron Kowalski, Ph.D, Research Director of the Artificial Pancreas Project. “We’re all interested in people with diabetes achieving better glucose control. The community needs to hear what’s happening and where we are headed.”

The JDRF research involving artificial pancreas technology combines CGM with an insulin pump and a sophisticated computer program (called an algorithm) that can automate when and how much insulin to deliver. All but the computer program are technologies already commercially available to people with diabetes. Research trials performed so far within the JDRF Artificial Pancreas Project have tested various levels of automation, multiple computer programs, and a range of in-clinic situations, including large and small meals, nighttime control, and exercise.

However, “a fully automated system that administers insulin as needed during the night without human intervention is planned to be tested on children in their homes in the United Kingdom. Nobody has done such a study before,” Hovorka said.

“I think artificial pancreas systems are going to turn out to be among the most promising short-term clinical benefits of diabetes research,” said Richard Insel, Executive Vice President of Research at JDRF. “They are going to obviously allow individuals to more effectively manage their blood glucose levels, especially after eating, when exercising, and during the night while they sleep. Not only will that help prevent long-term complications of the disease, but low blood sugars will be prevented, and living with diabetes will be easier. Just preventing the swings in glucose levels will help. The benefits are countless.”

Partially Automated Systems in Development

Hovorka and his team from the University of Cambridge have completed several recent studies of the artificial pancreas that hold promise for both children and adults with type 1 diabetes. Earlier this year, The Lancet published their landmark study of children and teenagers with type 1 diabetes who experienced better control of blood glucose levels and lower incidence of hypoglycemia while sleeping, using a closed loop artificial pancreas system.

Today, during the joint American Diabetes Association-JDRF symposium, Hovorka outlined results of his most recent study, which showed these benefits remain consistent even after adults with type 1 eat a large meal and drink a glass of white wine before bedtime. The study found that using the artificial pancreas system, these adults spent 70 percent of their time within their target blood glucose range, up from 47 percent of the time they spend within target overnight without use of the artificial pancreas system. As in the other studies, time spent in hypoglycemia tended to be reduced, even though alcohol is known to increase the risk of nocturnal/next morning hypoglycemia for people with type 1 diabetes. Full results will be presented on Monday.

The Cambridge team has also begun preliminary research into how such a system might work for pregnant women with type 1 diabetes. Early results have examined overnight glucose control in this population to establish a baseline against which they can measure effectiveness using the closed loop artificial pancreas system. These preliminary results were discussed in a poster presentation here on Saturday.

Barriers to Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM)

A major component of the technology needed to produce an artificial pancreas is a continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) system, which relates blood glucose levels and the direction they are trending throughout the day and night, compared to the “snapshots” that are currently taken by pricking the skin and using test strips on a periodic basis. CGM involves inserting a glucose-sensing device called a “sensor” under the skin of the abdomen, where it takes a glucose reading from the tissue every few seconds and relays it to a handheld device or insulin pump.

“CGM has the potential to be one of the most important breakthroughs in diabetes management in many years, especially for type 1, probably since pump therapies were developed in the 1980s,” said William Tamborlane, MD, of Yale University, and co-chair of JDRF’s Continuous Glucose Monitoring Group. Holding back more wide scale adoption of the technology at present, he said, are technical imperfections that make the devices cumbersome to use and require frequent calibrations and manual confirmations to ensure accuracy. “What we have now are imperfect simulations of the perfect system,” he said. But the technology holds great promise because even while not yet perfected, research has shown that using it regularly can significantly reduce A1C levels without increasing severe hypoglycemia in those who used it as directed.

JDRF-funded studies have shown that adults over the age of 25 were able to reduce their A1C levels from 7.6 to 7.1, using CGM in conjunction with an insulin pump, he said. In children ages 8-14, A1C levels dropped from 8.0 to 7.6 using CGM. Teenagers did not see a benefit, but that is likely because they were less likely to comply with using the technology than the other two groups, Tamborlane said. Participants in the trials who used the technology regularly — more than six days per week — saw similar improvement regardless of age.

“To get a benefit from a device, you actually have to use it,” he said.

Most importantly, when using CGM, A1C levels were reduced half a percentage point without increasing the risk of severe hypoglycemia, Tamborlane said. Hypoglycemia is perhaps the biggest concern for people with diabetes looking to significantly lower blood glucose levels and can have serious negative consequences, such as loss of consciousness.

The Joslin Center’s Ritholz said her team studied the psycho-social barriers that can prevent people from successful use of a CGM system and found that those who used problem-solving skills for coping with frustration and anger; who saw CGM as a mechanism for better understanding glucose patterns; and who had good support from a spouse or significant other were most likely to achieve good results with using this technology. Conversely, those who had anger and impulse control issues, who failed to synthesize the data from CGM and who didn’t have good emotional support were less likely to benefit from CGM use.

Success was defined, in this study, as lowering A1C levels by at least half a percentage point (if levels were above 7 percent at baseline) or decreasing the amount of hypoglycemia (if levels were below 7 percent at baseline), Ritholz said.

“There needs to be attention paid to the people using CGM,” she said. “We can’t just focus on the technology. In determining individualized patient care, it’s important to pay attention to who is most likely to succeed with this technology. It’s not for everybody.”

The American Diabetes Association is leading the fight to stop diabetes and its deadly consequences and fighting for those affected by diabetes. The Association funds research to prevent, cure and manage diabetes; delivers services to hundreds of communities; provides objective and credible information; and gives voice to those denied their rights because of diabetes. Founded in 1940, our mission is to prevent and cure diabetes and to improve the lives of all people affected by diabetes. For more information please call the American Diabetes Association at 1-800-DIABETES (1-800-342-2383) or visit www.diabetes.org. Information from both these sources is available in English and Spanish.

About JDRF
JDRF is the leader in research leading to a cure for type 1 diabetes in the world. It sets the global agenda for diabetes research, and is the largest charitable funder and advocate of diabetes science worldwide.

The mission of JDRF is to find a cure for diabetes and its complications through the support of research. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease that strikes children and adults suddenly, and can be fatal. Until a cure is found, people with type 1 diabetes have to test their blood sugar and give themselves insulin injections multiple times or use a pump — each day, every day of their lives. And even with that intensive care, insulin is not a cure for diabetes, nor does it prevent its eventual and devastating complications, which may include kidney failure, blindness, heart disease, stroke, and amputation. The goal of the JDRF Artificial Pancreas Project is to speed the development of automated diabetes management systems. Since its founding in 1970 by parents of children with type 1 diabetes, JDRF has awarded more than $1.4 billion to diabetes research, including more than $100 million in 20 countries last year alone.

Symposium, Sunday June 27, 2 P.M.

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TORONTO, ONTARIO–(Marketwire – June 26, 2010) – The Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care has deployed Ontario’s Emergency Medical Assistance Team (EMAT) to support capacity at the Huntsville District Memorial Hospital site of Muskoka Algonquin Healthcare. In anticipation of the many visitors expected in the region, the ministry has been working with the North Simcoe Muskoka Local Health Integration Network (LHIN) and local health service providers in the Simcoe-Muskoka region for over a year to develop plans to ensure there are minimal disruptions during the G8 summit.

The EMAT is funded by the ministry and is operated by the Sunnybrook-Osler Centre for Prehospital Care (SOCPC), a division of Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre.

“The EMAT is providing additional critical care capacity in the region as part of a comprehensive health care plan to support the needs of this community”, said Robert Burgess, SOCPC Senior Director.

The EMAT mobile field hospital has been erected directly adjacent to the Huntsville District Memorial Hospital.

The Emergency Medical Assistance Team (EMAT)

Backgrounder

Q1. What is the Emergency Medical Assistance Team (EMAT)?

The EMAT is a part of the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care’s (the ministry) health emergency response program and is an important component of Ontario’s overall emergency response capacity. The EMAT is funded by the ministry and is operated by Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. The EMAT is a 56-bed mobile field hospital that may be deployed by the ministry within 24-hours to any road-accessible community in Ontario. The unit provides the capacity to provide ongoing treatment for up to 20 acute care and 36 intermediate care patients and/or a staging and triage base for patients prior to transporting them to acute care hospitals and is medically self-sustainable (supplies, equipment, power, and personnel) for 72 hours.

Q2. What kind of health emergency response services does the EMAT provide?

The EMAT has the capacity to provide ongoing treatment for up to 20 acute care and 36 intermediate care patients and/or triage. The EMAT has expertise in: patient isolation in the case of an infectious disease outbreak; the provision of medical support and first receiver cold zone decontamination in the case of a chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear (CBRN) incidents; and assisting with managing patients in a mass casualty situation. If any jurisdiction in Ontario finds that it does not have the capacity to respond effectively to a health incident or emergency, the EMAT may be deployed to support the local health system.

Q3. How is the EMAT staffed?

The EMAT uses on-call professional health care providers from across the province who volunteer to work on the EMAT. Team members come from a variety of locations so that no single area is without vital health human resources at any given time. There are approximately 90 members including physicians, nurses, critical and advanced care paramedics and social workers, who are specially trained through the EMAT in health emergency management and response. Once the EMAT is activated, on-call volunteer workers are alerted and transported to the emergency site.

Q4. Who determines when the EMAT is deployed?

Deployment is based on an established set of criteria, including an immediate assessment of the local health care system’s ability to respond to the incident/ emergency, the availability of accommodations, water and food supplies for the EMAT volunteer workers, and an assessment of the emergency site (e.g., safety assessment for the mobile unit and EMAT volunteer workers). To deploy the EMAT, the local hospital and/or health system contacts the ministry with the initial request for EMAT support. If the situation meets the criteria, the ministry activates the EMAT.

Q5. How is the EMAT trained?

The EMAT team has the appropriate training and skills to function as a team in a health emergency environment involving infectious diseases outbreaks, natural disasters, CBRN, and mass causality incidents. The EMAT team trains regularly through full-scale exercises, which involve the participation of local health care organizations, and may also include local police, fire and ambulance services, as well as local municipalities.

Q6. What is the EMAT’s role at the G8?

The EMAT is a mobile field hospital that has been deployed to the G8 in Huntsville, ON to support capacity for the Huntsville hospital. It is onsite as part of the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care’s work to ensure there is capacity for care for all patients.

ORLANDO, FL–(Marketwire – June 25, 2010) –  Bret Michaels, lead vocalist of Poison and winner of this season of “Celebrity Apprentice,” has received the American Diabetes Association’s prestigious Chair’s Citation Award in Orlando, FL. Bret will be the first recipient of the Award, which recognizes the outstanding accomplishments of individuals, corporations, institutions or organizations who have demonstrated significant dedication and commitment in their local market and have had a positive impact in advancing the mission of the American Diabetes Association.

“We are proud of Bret’s passion and commitment to raising funds for the American Diabetes Association. His efforts this year will truly help us change the future of this deadly disease,” said Larry Hausner, CEO, American Diabetes Association. “We are also very excited to continue our relationship with Bret and, together, help Stop Diabetes^SM.”

Bret, who has type 1 diabetes, chose the American Diabetes Association as his charity during this season of “Celebrity Apprentice.” He raised $390,000 for the Association and has helped put a face to diabetes by raising critical awareness about the seriousness of diabetes and the importance of diabetes prevention and management.

The American Diabetes Association is the largest voluntary health organization committed to the fight to stop diabetes. Each year the Association honors volunteers who have made a significant contribution to this fight at its Community Volunteer Leadership Conference and National Board Meeting. Immediately following this conference, the Association hosts its Scientific Sessions with more than 13,000 top scientists, physicians and other health care professionals from around the world to share cutting edge research, treatment recommendations and advances toward a cure for diabetes.

Nearly 24 million children and adults in the United States have diabetes. Diabetes contributes to the deaths of more than 230,000 Americans each year. The American Diabetes Association estimates that the total cost of diagnosed diabetes in the United States is more than $174 billion; further published studies suggest that when additional costs for gestational diabetes, pre-diabetes and undiagnosed diabetes are included, the total diabetes-related costs in the United States could exceed $218 billion. 

About Bret Michaels
Bret Michaels, lead vocalist of Poison and winner of this season’s “Celebrity Apprentice,” has an album coming out on July 6, 2010 called “Custom Built.” Bret will also be producing and appearing in a new reality show on VH1 called “Bret Michaels: Life as You Know It.”

About the American Diabetes Association
The American Diabetes Association is leading the fight to stop diabetes and its deadly consequences and fighting for those affected by diabetes. The Association funds research to prevent, cure, and manage diabetes; delivers services to hundreds of communities; provides objective and credible information; and gives voice to those denied their rights because of diabetes. Founded in 1940, its mission is to prevent and cure diabetes and to improve the lives of all people affected by diabetes. For more information, please call the American Diabetes Association at 1-800-DIABETES (1-800-342-2383) or visit www.diabetes.org. Information from both these sources is available in English and Spanish.

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