Technology in the management of type 1 diabetes mellitus — current status and future prospects

Recently developed technologies for the treatment of type 1 diabetes mellitus include a variety of pumps and pumps with glucose sensors. In this 1-year, multicenter, randomized, controlled trial, we compared the efficacy of sensor-augmented pump therapy (pump therapy) with that of a regimen of multiple daily insulin injections (injection therapy) in 485 patients (329 adults and 156 children) with inadequately controlled type 1 diabetes. Patients received recombinant insulin analogues and were supervised by expert clinical teams. The primary end point was the change from the baseline glycated hemoglobin level. At 1 year, the baseline mean glycated hemoglobin level (8.3% in the two study groups) had decreased to 7.5% in the pump-therapy group, as compared with 8.1% in the injection-therapy group (P<0.001). The proportion of patients who reached the glycated hemoglobin target (<7%) was greater in the pump-therapy group than in the injection-therapy group. The rate of severe hypoglycemia in the pump-therapy group (13.31 cases per 100 person-years) did not differ significantly from that in the injection-therapy group (13.48 per 100 person-years, P=0.58). There was no significant weight gain in either group. In both adults and children with inadequately controlled type 1 diabetes, sensor-augmented pump therapy resulted in significant improvement in glycated hemoglobin levels, as compared with injection therapy. A significantly greater proportion of both adults and children in the pump-therapy group than in the injection-therapy group reached the target glycated hemoglobin level. (Funded by Medtronic and others; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00417989.) 2010 Massachusetts Medical Society

The safety and effectiveness of automated glycemic management have not been tested in multiday studies under unrestricted outpatient conditions.

Aims/hypothesis The aim of this multicentre, randomised, controlled crossover study was to determine the efficacy of adding continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) to insulin pump therapy (CSII) in type 1 diabetes. Methods Children and adults (n = 153) on CSII with HbA1c 7.5–9.5% (58.5–80.3 mmol/mol) were randomised to (CGM) a Sensor On or Sensor Off arm for 6 months. After 4 months’ washout, participants crossed over to the other arm for 6 months. Paediatric and adult participants were separately electronically randomised through the case report form according to a predefined randomisation sequence in eight secondary and tertiary centres. The primary outcome was the difference in HbA1c levels between arms after 6 months. Results Seventy-seven participants were randomised to the On/Off sequence and 76 to the Off/On sequence; all were included in the primary analysis. The mean difference in HbA1c was –0.43% (–4.74 mmol/mol) in favour of the Sensor On arm (8.04% [64.34 mmol/mol] vs 8.47% [69.08 mmol/mol]; 95% CI −0.32%, −0.55% [−3.50, −6.01 mmol/mol]; p < 0.001). Following cessation of glucose sensing, HbA1c reverted to baseline levels. Less time was spent with sensor glucose <3.9 mmol/l during the Sensor On arm than in the Sensor Off arm (19 vs 31 min/day; p = 0.009). The mean number of daily boluses increased in the Sensor On arm (6.8 ± 2.5 vs 5.8 ± 1.9, p < 0.0001), together with the frequency of use of the temporary basal rate (0.75 ± 1.11 vs 0.26 ± 0.47, p < 0.0001) and manual insulin suspend (0.91 ± 1.25 vs 0.70 ± 0.75, p < 0.018) functions. Four vs two events of severe hypoglycaemia occurred in the Sensor On and Sensor Off arm, respectively (p = 0.40). Conclusions/interpretation Continuous glucose monitoring was associated with decreased HbA1c levels and time spent in hypoglycaemia in individuals with type 1 diabetes using CSII. More frequent self-adjustments of insulin therapy may have contributed to these effects. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov registration no. NCT00598663. Funding The study was funded by Medtronic International Trading Sarl Switzerland.