Senseonics Announces CFO Transition was published by Senseonics Holdings, Inc., 1 September 2022.
Senseonics, a medical technology company focused on the development and manufacturing of long-term, implantable continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) systems for people with diabetes, today its Chief Financial Officer, Nick Tressler, is transitioning from his position, effective September 1, 2022. Rick Sullivan, Senseonics’ current Vice President of Finance, has been appointed to succeed Mr. Tressler as Chief Financial Officer of Senseonics. Mr. Tressler will remain with Senseonics in a supporting role through the end of the year to ensure an orderly change.
“Having worked with Rick for over nine years, he has proven to be an integral part of our team and holds an exceptional track record of delivering value and supporting the long-term strategic vision of Senseonics,” said Tim Goodnow, President, and Chief Executive Officer at Senseonics. “I am confident his leadership ability will drive our operational and financial performance forward.”
Read more: Senseonics Announces CFO Transition
The iLet Bionic Pancreas – No Need to Count Carbs was reported by Andrew Briskin for diaTribe.org, 22 August 2022. Impressive results from a trial for an up-and-coming artificial pancreas showed that users spent an average of 2.6 more hours in range each day compared to non-users – all without counting carbs.
The iLet Bionic Pancreas is an automated insulin delivery (AID) system, not yet approved by the FDA, that consists of a tubed insulin pump, a Dexcom G6 continuous glucose monitor (CGM), and a connected smartphone or reader. Unlike other AID systems, iLet requires very limited input from the user. When setting up the device, the only information that users need to enter is their weight. For adjustments in insulin dosing, users enter their desired glucose target (usual, lower, or higher), the type of meal (breakfast, lunch, dinner), and the size of the meal (usual, less, or more) – no carb counting is required. After entering glucose targets and details about the meal, the pump’s algorithm can automatically make adjustments to insulin dosing.
Because iLet users only need to enter their meal type (breakfast, lunch, or dinner) and size of the meal (usual, less, or more than usual), bolusing can be a big adjustment. Courtney Balliro, a clinical research nurse and project manager at Massachusetts General Hospital’s Diabetes Research Center and a member of the team investigating the iLet, explained that the iLet Bionic Pancreas team refers to this new bolusing method as “meal announcements.” The iLet system is awaiting FDA approval. However, clinical trial results and user testimonials were impressive in improving Time in Range, A1C, and, for many, reduced diabetes-related stress.
UPDATE! On 24 August 2022, Beta Bionics had a massive RIF, with about a 60% reduction. That’s over 100 employees. There has been no formal announcement but lots of comments on LinkedIn. We all had so much hope. Ed Damiano was replaced as CEO by Sean Saint (https://www.globenewswire.com/en/news-release/2022/08/15/2498485/0/en/Beta-Bionics-Appoints-Sean-Saint-as-CEO-and-Board-Member.html).
Read more: The iLet Bionic Pancreas – No Need to Count Carbs
MIT engineers develop a chip-free, wireless electronic skin to monitor health as reported by Baba Tamim for InterestingEngineering.com, 21 August 2022. You could even detect glucose related to stress levels through this “versatile” wireless e-skin sensor.
In a significant development, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) engineers have developed a new category of wireless wearable skin-like sensors for health monitoring that doesn’t require batteries or an internal processor. The team’s sensor design is a form of electronic skin, or “e-skin” — a flexible, semiconducting film that conforms to the skin like electronic Scotch tape. “If there is any change in the pulse, or chemicals in sweat, or even ultraviolet exposure to skin, all of this activity can change the pattern of surface acoustic waves on the gallium nitride film,” said Yeongin Kim, study’s first author, and a former MIT postdoc scholar. “And the sensitivity of our film is so high that it can detect these changes,” added Kim, who is now an assistant professor at the University of Cincinnati.
Wireless technology makes it possible for a person’s blood pressure, heart rate, glucose levels, and activity levels to be easily communicated from the sensor to the smartphone for additional analysis, making wearable sensors incredibly common. “We showed sodium sensing, but if you change the sensing membrane, you could detect any target biomarker, such as glucose or cortisol related to stress levels,” said Jun Min Suh, co-author of the study and an MIT postdoc. “It’s quite a versatile platform.” The research was first published in the journal Science.
Read more: MIT engineers develop a chip-free, wireless electronic skin to monitor health
A revolutionary pill may soon replace insulin injections was written by Ameya Paleja for InterestingEngineering.com, 5 September 2022.
Researchers at the University of British Columbia (UBC) have developed an insulin tablet that can be taken orally and works just like the injectable, paving the way for a revolutionary treatment method for diabetes patients. Researchers have attempted to move away from insulin injections by developing different treatment methods, such as swallowable pills and even drinkable insulin. However, these attempts have achieved limited success since much of the insulin ingested in such a way gets accumulated in the stomach.
For insulin to act effectively on blood glucose, it must quickly reach the liver. Ingested insulin can take anywhere between two-four hours to get to the liver, which is very slow compared to injected insulin which is available in the liver as quickly as 30 minutes and remains available for two-four hours. UBC researchers have now developed oral tablets that match the availability rate of injected insulin.
To achieve this, the researcher developed an insulin pill that dissolves between the gums and the cheek in the mouth. The pill takes advantage of the mucosal membrane, a thin membrane found in the lining of the inner cheek and behind the lips. This membrane enables direct insulin delivery to the liver, bypassing the stomach altogether. Not only does this allow for the insulin to be rapidly available, but it also saves the wastage of insulin that occurs when it goes through the stomach. The findings of the study were published in the journal Scientific Reports.
Read more: A revolutionary pill may soon replace insulin injections
A Pilot randomized trial to examine effects of a hybrid closed-loop insulin delivery system on neurodevelopmental and cognitive outcomes in adolescents with type 1 diabetes was published in Nature.com, 30 August 2022.
Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is associated with lower scores on tests of cognitive and neuropsychological function and alterations in brain structure and function in children. This proof-of-concept pilot study (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier NCT03428932) examined whether MRI-derived indices of brain development and function and standardized IQ scores in adolescents with T1D could be improved with better diabetes control using a hybrid closed-loop insulin delivery system.
Adolescents in the hybrid closed-loop group showed significantly greater improvement in several primary outcomes indicative of neurotypical development during adolescence compared to the standard care group including cortical surface area, regional gray volumes, and fractional anisotropy. The two groups were not significantly different in total gray and white matter volumes or cortical thickness. The hybrid closed loop group also showed higher Perceptual Reasoning Index IQ scores and functional brain activity more indicative of neurotypical development relative to the standard care group (both secondary outcomes). These results suggest that alterations to the developing brain in T1D might be preventable or reversible with rigorous glucose control. Long-term research in this area is needed.
Sugar disrupts microbiome, eliminates protection against obesity and diabetes was reported by the Columbia University Irving Medical Center, 29 August 2022.
A study of mice found that dietary sugar alters the gut microbiome, setting off a chain of events that leads to metabolic disease, pre-diabetes, and weight gain. The findings, published today in Cell, suggest that diet matters, but an optimal microbiome is equally important for the prevention of metabolic syndrome, diabetes, and obesity.
Diet alters microbiome: A Western-style high-fat, high-sugar diet can lead to obesity, metabolic syndrome, and diabetes, but how the diet kickstarts unhealthy changes in the body is unknown. The gut microbiome is indispensable for an animal’s nutrition, so Ivalyo Ivanov, Ph.D., associate professor of microbiology & immunology at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, and his colleagues investigated the initial effects of the Western-style diet on the microbiome of mice.
Microbiome changes alter Th17 cells: The reduction in filamentous bacteria, the researchers found, was critical to the animals’ health through its effect on Th17 immune cells. The drop in filamentous bacteria reduced the number of Th17 cells in the gut, and further experiments revealed that it’s the Th17 cells that are necessary to prevent metabolic disease, diabetes, and weight gain. “Sugar eliminates the filamentous bacteria, and the protective Th17 cells disappear as a consequence,” says Ivanov. “When we fed mice a sugar-free, high-fat diet, they retain the intestinal Th17 cells and were completely protected from developing obesity and pre-diabetes, even though they ate the same number of calories.”
But eliminating sugar did not help all mice. Among those lacking any filamentous bacteria to begin with, elimination of sugar did not have a beneficial effect, and the animals became obese and developed diabetes. “This suggests that some popular dietary interventions, such as minimizing sugars, may only work in people who have certain bacterial populations within their microbiota,” Ivanov says. In those cases, certain probiotics might be helpful.
Read more: Sugar disrupts microbiome, eliminates protection against obesity and diabetes
What Sugar Really Does to the Body, was posted by Loukia Papadopoulos for InterestingEngineering.com, 20 August 2022.
In this video, the Institute of Human Anatomy explores the issue in great detail. Research shows that sugar is problematic, makes you gain weight, and can even lead to diabetes. But are these assessments correct?
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- The truth is how you process sugar varies a lot according to your lifestyle (whether you are active or not), your metabolism, and the rest of your diet. To illustrate these facts, the video begins by explaining exactly what sugar is (simple carbs) and how your body digests it.
- Get ready to learn about glucose, monosaccharides, and disaccharides. The next step in the video is to analyze whether these substances are actually detrimental to human health.
- It goes through instances where humans actually need sugars and explains why they may even be good for you. Gasp! Could this be true?
- If so, why is it referred to as an empty calorie? Where did this term come from, and how accurate is it really? The video also answers these questions as well as explains what is truly the worst thing about sugar.
- It also tells us about the right time to eat sugar.
- Do you have a sweet tooth? Then this video is a must for you.
Genetic link affirms type 1 diabetes raises risk for hypothyroidism was written by Brian Ellis for Healio.com/endocrinology, 23 August 2022.
Data from a Mendelian randomization analysis indicated a causal association between type 1 diabetes and hypothyroidism, leading researchers to recommend that people with type 1 diabetes undergo regular thyroid function tests.
“Our results were based on several Mendelian randomization methods, and there was consistency in the causal effect estimates, indicating that the findings are convincing,” Fuzhong Xue, PhD, associate director and professor in the department of epidemiology and biostatistics in the School of Public Health at Shandong University in Shandong, China wrote.
Read more: Genetic link affirms type 1 diabetes raises risk for hypothyroidism
Anti-insulin protein linked to longevity and reproduction in ants was published by New York University by Phys.org 1 September 2022.
An insulin-suppressing protein may be the fountain of youth for ants and provides clues about aging in other species, according to a study led by New York University researchers. Published in Science, the study shows that queen ants exhibit high metabolism for reproduction without undergoing aging by generating an anti-insulin protein that blocks only part of the insulin pathway that is responsible for aging.
In many animals, having many offspring is linked to a shorter lifespan. This trade-off between fertility and longevity in animals is thought to result from how nutritional and metabolic resources are allocated.
Insulin—a hormone that helps convert food into energy—plays a major role in metabolism, but also in aging. Producing eggs is energy intensive and requires extra food, which raises insulin levels, but increased activity of the insulin pathway required for reproduction leads to shorter lifespan in most animals. In contrast, dietary restriction prolongs life by keeping insulin levels down; in fact, other researchers are exploring whether fasting improves longevity.
Ants are a notable exception to the trade-off between reproduction and longevity, as their queens—which are responsible for the whole colony’s reproduction—live much longer than worker ants while sharing the same genome. In a species such as the black garden ant, a queen can lay one million eggs and live for 30 years, while her sterile worker sisters only live for a year.
Read more: Anti-insulin protein linked to longevity and reproduction in ants
What the world clearly does not need is more reproducing ants. Sheryl says we also do not need rick reproducing anymore either and has thus banned the ant study from my preview. She said no damn more.
I am not surprised about Ilet’s workforce disruption. They have been in business for at least seven years and do not yet have a viable product. Meanwhile, Eli Lilly has other investments that look closer. The bottom line is that the three-part partnership has thus far failed to bring a product to market. While the idea seems cool, the completion seems a long long way away. I hate it for the laid-off, but I have the same feeling about Bigfoot. Where is the product? Capital is hard to come by these days. Wasting it so far is just not a viable option.
I will retreat to my corner.