In this week’s issue of The Savvy Diabetic:
-
-
-
Color-Changing, Needle-Free Glucose Sensor Gets FDA Nod
-
New ‘Smart Insulin’ Shows Promise in Reducing Hypoglycemia
- Loop and Learn Discussion: twiist™ and Loop, Recorded 10/11/25
-
Gene-Edited Pig Kidneys Show Promise in Transplantation
-
Changes in Taste with GLP-1s Tied to Increased Satiety, Decreased Appetite
- GLP-1s in Older Adults: Benefits and Risks
- Stanford University Virtual Diabetes & Exercise Study is Open
-
-
Color-Changing, Needle-Free Glucose Sensor Gets FDA Nod … and MORE NEWS by Paul Heltzel for diatribe.org, 23 October 2025.
The FDA has cleared a new glucose sensor called the Biolinq Shine, a needle-free option for people with type 2 diabetes who don’t use insulin. The Shine is an adhesive patch about the size of a quarter that uses a small, color-coded LED indicator, rather than a numeric display, to indicate whether glucose levels are in, above, or below range. Cleared for adults aged 22 and up, it also tracks other measures that may support glucose management, such as sleep and activity, with details viewable in a mobile app.
While not as precise as the numerical data a CGM offers, new approaches like the Biolinq Shine provide people with type 2 diabetes who are not on insulin an easy, needle-free way to monitor their blood sugar.
Click on the link below for the latest diabetes news and alerts from diatribe … an excellent overview:
Read more: Color-Changing, Needle-Free Glucose Sensor Gets FDA Nod
New ‘smart insulin’ shows promise in reducing hypoglycemia bouts by Rory Appleton forMedicine,IU.edu, 9 October 2025.
Researchers at the Indiana University School of Medicine have discovered a new way to regulate blood glucose levels using a lab-designed protein, possibly opening the door to a new treatment avenue for people with Type 1 diabetes. The findings, published in ACS Pharmacology and Translational Science, showed improvement in rats treated with a substance that combines insulin and glucagon into one molecule. The research team’s new protein works by mimicking the two hormones and, in turn, signals the liver, which naturally responds to insulin and glucagon depending on the body’s needs.
The effort was spearheaded by IU School of Medicine Distinguished Professor Michael A. Weiss, MD, PhD, and complements his previous research on similar “smart insulins.” Previously, Weiss created a synthetic hinge that could react to such a substance, allowing for more accurate regulation of blood sugar levels in the body.
“For the past century, coping with hypoglycemia (the lows) has been an ever-present challenge in Type 1 diabetes,” Weiss said. “This has made creating glucose-responsive insulins (smart insulins) a major goal. Our approach simplifies such design by exploiting an endogenous ‘smart’ switch in the liver, how the body naturally adjusts relative hormonal responses based on whether the blood glucose level is high or low: Too high, insulin wins; too low, glucagon wins.”
Read more:
Loop and Learn Discussion: twiist™ and Loop was presented via Zoom, 11 October 2025.
twiist™ insulin delivery system. It is an FDA-approved version of open-source Loop. Sequel, the company that markets twiist™, was NOT a sponsor and did not review or approve the program’s content. This presentation is provided to help T1Ds understand the differences between Loop and twiist so that they can make informed decisions about their diabetes self-management in consultation with their healthcare professionals. Nothing heard in this video should be taken as medical advice.
The PROGRAM: twiist™ and Loop
-
-
-
- What is twiist
- The advantages of twiist
- Similarities to Loop
- What loopers lose by transitioning to twist
- Travel tips
-
-
Ellen Broadman, Dahne Rodriguez, and Rachael McGeorge, all former loopers who transitioned to twiist™, describe their experiences with the pump, including what they like about twiist, the challenges of transitioning, whether loopers should wait to transition, and tips for loopers who decide to transition to twiist™.
Gene-Edited Pig Kidneys Show Promise in Transplantation byJohn Schieszer for Medscape.com, 29 September 2025.
Over the past several months, a small number of patients have received genetically modified pig kidneys. Three of the four procedures were performed at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) in Boston. The MGH medical team reported that a novel immunosuppressive strategy, utilizing an investigational therapy called tegoprubart, helped make these transplants possible. Tegoprubart therapy targets CD40 ligand (CD40L), a key co-stimulatory immune pathway.
“The field of xenotransplantation is entering clinical trials and continues in preclinical studies in nonhuman primates,” said Jay A. Fishman, MD, associate director of the Transplantation Center and the director of the Transplant Infectious Disease & Compromised Host Program at MGH. “One of the cardinal lessons of innovation in transplantation is that one size does not fit all. We need to be able to individualize immunosuppression and infectious prophylaxis for the needs of each patient.”
Investigators hope that advances in genetically edited donor pigs and novel immunosuppression will pave the way for broader clinical trials. However, widespread adoption will take time. The team cautions against overselling pig kidney transplants to the public. “The field will require further preclinical and clinical trials to assure success and safety,” said Fishman, who also serves as president-elect of the International Xenotransplantation Association.
Read more: Gene-Edited Pig Kidneys Show Promise in Transplantation
Changes in taste with GLP-1-based therapies tied to increased satiety, decreased appetite by Michael Monostra for Healio.com/news/endocrinology, 6 October 2025.
Adults with obesity who reported more intense tastes while receiving semaglutide or tirzepatide had a higher likelihood of increased satiety, decreased appetite, and food cravings. Researchers found that some adults reported an increased intensity of sweet and salty tastes, and an increased intensity of both types of tastes was associated with a greater likelihood of increased satiety. However, a change in taste did not affect weight-related outcomes.
“This means that taste perception changes may serve as markers of appetite response rather than predictors of treatment success,” said Othmar Moser, PhD, professor in the division of endocrinology and diabetology in the department of internal medicine at Medical University of Graz in Austria and in the division of exercise physiology and metabolism at the Institute for Sports Science at University of Bayreuth in Germany. “The findings highlight the nuanced ways incretin therapies act beyond pure metabolic regulation.”
“GLP-1 and GIP receptors are present in taste buds, the brainstem, and higher brain regions that process taste and reward,” Moser said of the mechanisms behind the taste changes. “Activating these pathways may heighten taste intensity and alter how food cues are valued, dampening hedonic drive. The therapies may also modulate gut-brain signaling, changing how sweetness and saltiness are encoded during digestion. Together, these mechanisms create a recalibration of taste and appetite regulation. Thus, incretin therapy influences not just metabolism but also sensory and reward pathways.”
Read more: Changes in taste with GLP-1-based therapies tied to increased satiety, decreased appetite
GLP-1s in Older Adults: Benefits and Risks to Watch by Melissa Warburg for Medscape.com, 18 September 2025.
Physicians should be aware of the age-related health issues that GLP-1 use could impact to adults over age 65.
-
-
-
- Potential Benefits: Studies of older adults using GLP-1s show improved kidney function and cardiovascular health, including better blood flow and a lower risk of stroke. Research also suggests that GLP-1s may reduce the incidence of heart failure events. Early research suggests they could delay the onset of dementia or Alzheimer’s disease.
- Muscle Loss: Aging naturally causes a reduction in muscle mass. GLP-1-related weight loss includes lean tissue, raising the risk of frailty.
- Bones Become Brittle: Bone mass and density also decrease with age and weight loss, leaving bones more susceptible to fractures.
- Low Blood Pressure: Losing weight can lower blood pressure. If a patient is already on medication to lower their blood pressure, hypotension or fainting may occur.
- Dehydration and Kidney Function: Older adults are susceptible to dehydration, and GLP-1s can exacerbate the risk. This is particularly concerning for patients who already have kidney dysfunction.
-
-
Read more: GLP-1s in Older Adults: Benefits and Risks to Watch
Stanford University Virtual Diabetes & Exercise Study is still open and enrolling!
Medicine Nobel goes to scientists who revealed secrets of immune system ‘regulation’ by Miryam Naddaf & Elizabeth Gibney for Nature.com, 6 October 2025. Mary Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell, and Shimon Sakaguchi discovered cells that protect the body from autoimmune diseases.
This year’s Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded to three scientists for discovering a class of immune cells that help to prevent the body from attacking its own tissues.
Mary Brunkow, a molecular biologist at the Institute for Systems Biology in Seattle, Washington; Fred Ramsdell, a scientific adviser at the firm Sonoma Biotherapeutics in Seattle, Washington; and immunologist Shimon Sakaguchi at the University of Osaka in Suita, Japan, will share the prize of 11 million Swedish kronor (US$1 million) “for their discoveries concerning peripheral immune tolerance”.
The trio “have provided fundamental knowledge of how the immune system is regulated”, said Nobel committee member Marie Wahren-Herlenius, a rheumatologist at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, at a press conference announcing the prize. Their discoveries help to explain “how we keep our immune system under control so we can fight all imaginable microbes and still avoid autoimmune disease”. The findings led to the development of a range of therapies for autoimmune diseases that are now in early clinical development, says Samantha Bucktrout, an immunologist at Greywolf Therapeutics in Oxford, UK, who has previously worked with Ramsdell.
“If it wasn’t for these initial findings — and all of this whole field that these individuals started — we would never be at this place now where we can talk about cures,” she says. Autoimmune conditions — including type 1 diabetes, arthritis, and multiple sclerosis — affect around one in ten people.
Read more: Medicine Nobel goes to scientists who revealed secrets of immune system ‘regulation’
Ahmen or the auto immune system scientists. – Thank you
Oink Onik sign me up twice