The News of Us
  • Home
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Science and Technology
  • Health
  • Subscribe Us
No Result
View All Result
The News of Us
  • Home
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Science and Technology
  • Health
  • Subscribe Us
No Result
View All Result
The News of Us
No Result
View All Result

Researchers develop novel method for glucagon delivery

For children with Type 1 diabetes, the risk of experiencing a severe hypoglycemic episode is especially common—and for parents, the threat of that happening in the middle of the night is especially frightening. Sudden and critical drops in blood sugar can go undetected overnight when the child is asleep, resulting in coma and death—an event known as “dead in bed syndrome.”

“A parent can check their child’s glucose levels right before they go to bed and everything looks fine, then around 2 a.m. their blood sugar is dangerously low—near comatose level,” said Matthew Webber, associate professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at the University of Notre Dame.

Webber has listened to parents of diabetic children describe the fear of such an episode—waking up several times a night to check glucose levels and the panic of emergency situations and rushing children to the hospital in the middle of the night.

In severe situations, glucagon injections can stabilize blood glucose levels long enough for parents to get their child medical attention. But in a new study, published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, Webber is rethinking the traditional use of glucagon as an emergency response by administering it as a preventive measure.

In the research, Webber and his team illustrate how they successfully developed hydrogels that remain intact in the presence of glucose but slowly destabilize as levels drop, releasing glucagon into the system, raising glucose levels.

“In the field of glucose-responsive materials, the focus has typically been on managing insulin delivery to control spikes in blood sugar,” Webber said. “There are two elements to blood glucose control. You don’t want your blood sugar to be too high and you don’t want it to be too low. We’ve essentially engineered a control cycle using a hydrogel that breaks down when glucose levels drop to release glucagon as needed.”

The gels are water-based with a three-dimensional structure. Webber describes them as having a mesh-like architecture resembling a pile of spaghetti noodles with glucagon “sprinkled” throughout. According to the study, in animal models the gels dissolved as glucose levels dropped, eventually breaking down to release their glucagon contents.

Ideally in future applications, the gels would be administered each night before bed, Webber explained. “If a hypoglycemic episode arose later on, three or five hours later while the child is sleeping, then the technology would be there ready to deploy the therapeutic, correct the glucose imbalance and prevent a severe episode.”

Webber emphasized that the research is in extremely early stages and parents and individuals living with Type 1 diabetes should not expect to see such a therapeutic available in the near term.

“One of the big challenges was engineering the hydrogel to be stable enough in the presence of glucose and responsive enough in the absence of it,” he said. Another challenge was preventing the glucagon from leaking out of the hydrogel’s mesh-like structure. While the team was ultimately successful, Webber said he hopes to improve stability and responsiveness with further study.

[Read More…]

Previous Post

Climbing dollar pauses for breath ahead of ECB

Next Post

Covid: The Mexican villages refusing to vaccinate

Related Posts

Science and Technology

Ferrari’s ‘last’ V8 supercar is apparently sold out

Science and Technology

Apps with hidden data-harvesting software are banned by Google

Science and Technology

‘Happier’ Billie Eilish is a Grammys rock star in a Taylor Hawkins T-shirt

Science and Technology

EU proposes rules that discourage fast fashion culture: ‘Longer-lasting products’

Science and Technology

Amy Schumer drags Leonardo DiCaprio for dating younger women at Oscars 2022

Science and Technology

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope reaches alignment milestone, shares stunning view of cosmos

Next Post

Covid: The Mexican villages refusing to vaccinate

Follow us for latest Business News | Political News | Science & Technology News | Health News.

Subscribe Us

By clicking subscribe, I authorize: (1) The News Of Us to use and share my information in accordance with its Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, and (2) The News Of Us or third-party companies, including The News Of Us’s business partners, to contact me by email with offers for goods and services at the email address provided. Please note that the information you have provided to us may be supplemented with additional information obtained from other sources.
Loading

© 2021 The News of Us, - All Rights Reserved.

  • Subscribe Us
  • Contact Us
  • Unsubscribe
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Service
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Science and Technology
  • Health
  • Subscribe Us

© 2021 The News of Us, - All Rights Reserved.