Pain-free skin patch to automate diabetes management

Untreated, diabetes can result in both vascular and nerve damage throughout the body, with debilitating impacts on the eyes, feet, kidneys, and heart. Global incidence of all types of diabetes is about 285 million people, of which 90 per cent have Type-2 diabetes. 

 There is good news for diabetics as researchers have developed a pain-free skin patch containing dissolvable compounds that responds to blood chemistry to manage glucose automatically.

For millions of people with type 2 diabetes, ongoing vigilance over the amount of sugar, or glucose, in their blood is the key to health. A finger prick before mealtimes and maybe an insulin injection is an uncomfortable but necessary routine.

The new study, showed that the biochemical formula of mineralised compounds in the patch responds to sugar levels for days at a time.

In a proof-of-concept study performed with mice, the researchers showed that the biochemically formulated patch of dissolvable micro-needles can make the management of Type-2 diabetes much easier.
 
“This experimental approach could be a way to take advantage of the fact that persons with Type-2 diabetes can still produce some insulin,” said a researcher.

“A weekly micro-needle patch application would also be less complicated and painful than routines that require frequent blood testing,” a researcher said.

The base of the experimental patch is material called alginate, a gum-like natural substance extracted from brown algae.

 

It is mixed with therapeutic agents and poured into a microneedle form to make the patch.

“Alginate is a pliable material — it is soft, but not too soft,” said a lead researcher.

“It has to be able to poke the dermis, and while not a commonly used material for needles, it seems to work pretty well in this case,” the researcher said.

The team infused the alginate with a formula of biochemical particles that stimulates the body’s own insulin production when needed and curtails that stimulation when normal blood sugar concentration is reached.

The responsive delivery system of the patch can meet the body’s need for days instead of being used up all at once, the study said.

Insulin is a hormone made in the pancreas and secreted into the bloodstream to regulate glucose in response to food intake.

It is needed to move glucose from the bloodstream into cells where the sugar can be converted to energy or stored.

In Type-1 diabetes, usually diagnosed in children and young adults, the body does not make insulin at all.

Type-2 diabetes, which can be diagnosed at any age but more commonly as an adult, progressively lessens the body’s ability to make or use insulin.

Untreated, diabetes can result in both vascular and nerve damage throughout the body, with debilitating impacts on the eyes, feet, kidneys, and heart.

Global incidence of all types of diabetes is about 285 million people, of which 90 per cent have Type-2 diabetes.

Many require insulin therapy that is usually given by injection just under the skin in amounts that are calculated according to the deficit in naturally generated insulin in the blood. Insulin therapy is not managed well in half of all cases.

The alternate therapy approach developed by these researchers may eventually make management of Type-2 diabetes a lot more convenient.

THIS IS ONLY FOR INFORMATION, ALWAYS CONSULT YOU PHYSICIAN BEFORE HAVING ANY PARTICULAR FOOD/ MEDICATION/EXERCISE/OTHER REMEDIES.    
PS- THOSE INTERESTED IN RECIPES ARE FREE TO VIEW MY BLOG-                      

HTTP:GSEASYRECIPES.BLOGSPOT.COM/
FOR INFO ABOUT KNEE REPLACEMENT, YOU CAN VIEW MY BLOG-                                                                       

HTTP://KNEE REPLACEMENT-STICK CLUB.BLOGSPOT.COM/
FOR CROCHET DESIGNS
HTTP://MY CROCHET CREATIONS.BLOGSPOT.COM

This Needle-Covered Patch Dissolves Excess Body Fat Wherever You Stick It

A skin patch that effectively melts excess body fat wherever you decide to apply it sounds too good to be true, but this thing actually exists, thanks to new research.

The medicated patch uses an array of skin-piercing micro-needles to deliver nano-particles of drugs to the body, and while it hasn't yet been tested on humans, trials with mice show it reduces fat by as much as 20 percent in treated areas.

Developed by researchers, the skin patch doesn't just hold promise (and potential riches) for the cosmetics industry – it could one day help us to fight conditions like obesity and diabetes.

The way it works is to do with how our bodies store fat, which largely comes down to two kinds of fat cells: white fat and brown fat.

Brown fat is often thought of as 'good fat' because it readily breaks down and produces heat – which is why newborns have a lot of it, given they need help regulating their body temperature.

 Unfortunately for grown-ups, we don't have as much brown fat, and are instead saddled with ungainly deposits of white fat around our bodies, which is used for long-term energy storage, but not so easily burned.

In recent years, there's been a huge amount of scientific effort focused around bridging the gap between these two kinds of fat – or, more accurately, learning how to convert energy-storing white fat into energy-burning brown fat.

 A number of studies have shown success in triggering the transformation – sometimes called browning – but from a health care perspective, there's a problem.

"There are several clinically available drugs that promote browning, but all must be given as pills or injections," says one of the team.

"This exposes the whole body to the drugs, which can lead to side effects such as stomach upset, weight gain, and bone fractures. Our skin patch appears to alleviate these complications by delivering most drugs directly to fat tissue."

 This is possible due to the patch's grid of microscopic needles, which deliver browning chemicals under the skin wherever white fat is being stored.

 In their study, the researchers used two different browning drugs, rosiglitazone (aka Avandia) and a chemical called CL316243, which has previously been shown to brown white fat in mice.
 
First up, the drugs are encased in nanoparticles, each measuring about 250 nanometres (nm) in diameter – for reference, a human hair is approximately 100,000 nm wide, so we're talking really, really small.

 These nano-particles are then deployed in the patch, and when the micro-needles painlessly pierce the skin, the nano-particles are delivered into the tissue directly under the patch, where they dissolve.

 "The nano-particles were designed to effectively hold the drug and then gradually collapse, releasing it into nearby tissue in a sustained way instead of spreading the drug throughout the body quickly," explains one of the researchers.

In experiments with obese mice, patches were applied every three days for a total of four weeks. Treated mice had two patches applied on different sides of their bodies: one containing a browning drug, and the other containing empty nanoparticles.

 The results showed that the patches containing either rosiglitazone or CL316243 produced a 20 percent reduction in fat on the animals' treated side (compared to the empty nanoparticles patch).

 They also showed lower fasting blood glucose levels than control animals who were also only given patches containing no browning drugs.

In lean mice the treatment also offered benefits, increasing animals' oxygen consumption compared to untreated controls.

 Of course, there's no guarantee humans wearing the patch would see the same results, but it's another promising step forward as scientists gradually uncover the mechanisms that control brown and white fat production.

 The team are currently researching which drugs, or which combination of drugs, might work best to enable this kind of localised browning – as it's possible the right chemical might even be able to improve on the already impressive 20 percent fat reduction they've seen so far.

 "Many people will no doubt be excited to learn that we may be able to offer a noninvasive alternative to liposuction for reducing love handles," says a researcher.

 "What's much more important is that our patch may provide a safe and effective means of treating obesity and related metabolic disorders such as diabetes."

 While at present there are no firm plans to release the patch for use by people, it's quite possible that something like this might become available in the future once more a lot more research and safety tests are completed.

 Until that fateful day, there's always fish oil.

THIS IS ONLY FOR INFORMATION, ALWAYS CONSULT YOU PHYSICIAN BEFORE HAVING ANY PARTICULAR FOOD/ MEDICATION/EXERCISE/OTHER REMEDIES.
 PS- THOSE INTERESTED IN RECIPES ARE FREE TO VIEW MY BLOG-                      
HTTP:GSEASYRECIPES.BLOGSPOT.COM/
FOR INFO ABOUT KNEE REPLACEMENT, YOU CAN VIEW MY BLOG-                                                                           

HTTP://KNEE REPLACEMENT-STICK CLUB.BLOGSPOT.COM/
FOR CROCHET DESIGNS
HTTP://MY CROCHET CREATIONS.BLOGSPOT.COM

Smart Bandages Edge Closer To Market

Back in 2015 I looked at an innovative new bandage from researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, which used electrical currents to detect tissue damage before it is visible to the human eye.

“We set out to create a type of bandage that could detect bedsores as they are forming, before the damage reaches the surface of the skin,” the developers said.

So, for instance, it could provide a regular monitoring service for a wound.  The researchers documented their work in a paper that was published in Nature Communications.

This was then followed a year later by the work of a UK team, who have come up with a similar product.  The bandage is capable of turning a different color when it detects the onset of infection, thus providing medics with an early warning of problems afoot.

The product, which was documented in paper published at the time, turns bright green when the gel like material within the dressing detects bacteria.

Slow progress

These are undoubtedly fascinating projects, but there appears little sign that they are coming to market any time soon.  At least that’s the impression given by a Welsh team from Swansea University, who recently told the BBC that such bandages could be on trial within 12 months.

The bandages developed by the Welsh team utilize 5G technology to monitor what’s happening in the wound, whilst also tracking the activity levels of the wearer.

“That intelligent dressing uses nano-technology to sense the state of that wound at any one specific time.  It would connect that wound to a 5G infrastructure and that infrastructure through your telephone will also know things about you - where you are, how active you are at any one time,” the team tell the BBC.

Smart materials

The project is part of a growing number that are attempting to make materials smarter, especially in healthcare.  For instance,
researchers have also developed a smart patch that aims to help diabetes sufferers manage their insulin levels.  The patch is designed to monitor blood glucose levels and gradually release insulin if levels are too high.

The device was put through its paces in a recent study on mice.  The patch aims to take away the burden of managing insulin levels for people with either Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes by making the process both simple and injection free.

The patch is covered in micro-needles loaded with tiny, insulin-carrying pouches that are capable of painlessly injecting the wearer.  Each pouch is designed to break apart swiftly and then release the insulin as glucose levels rise.

Or you’ve got the team from Cardiff University, who are developing a smart patch to help detect the early onset of osteoarthritis in our knees.

The patch utilizes the same technology used to detect damage in the wings of an aircraft.  The technology listens out for subsonic cracking sounds in joints, which are an early indicator of later problems.

The patch promises to provide a cheaper, quicker way of diagnosis than existing methods.

“The idea has got huge potential to change the way we diagnose osteoarthritis (OA),” the team say.  “If we’re able to link the sound signature of a healthy knee and a knee with disease, we will be able to lower the costs on society a lot.”

Such devices are clearly a little way from the market, but the potential is clear for all to say, and hopefully we’re seeing signs that they are edging closer and closer.

this is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.  
 https://gscrochetdesigns.blogspot.com. one can see my crochet creations  
  htps://gseasyrecipes.blogspot.com. feel free to view for easy, simple and healthy recipes  
 https://kneereplacement-stickclub.blogspot.com. for info on knee replacement