NEWS
EXTRA
DIMENSIONS
GLUCOSE LENS ON HOLD
800-CAL DAILY DIET ON NHS
King's College Hospital (KCH) has
revealed the results of its best practice
physical and mental health model.
Three dimensions of care for diabetes at
KCH, also known as 3DFD scheme (3
Dimensions of care For Diabetes), sees
around 300 patients a year with diabetes
who also have mental health relatedissues
such as needle phobia, depression
or anxiety. Since it launched in 2010/11
the statistics show that among patients
with diabetes there has been a 45%
drop in A&E visits; 43% fewer hospital
admissions and 22% fewer hospital bed
days, a saving of £850 per patient over a
one-year period.
www.england.nhs.uk/3dfd
Thousands of people with Type 2 diabetes
in England are to be prescribed a very
low-calorie diet in the hope of reversing
their condition. Under the pilot they will be
restricted to 800 calories a day, in the form
of soups and shakes, for three months. In
a trial that took place in 2017 almost half
of those involved apparently managed to
put their diabetes into remission. Up to
5,000 patients will be prescribed the diet
by the NHS initially and receive follow-up
support. Prof Jonathan Valabhji, national
clinical director for diabetes and obesity
for NHS England, acknowledged the
diet is challenging and it does not suit
everyone, saying, "But we think it is worth
exploring the implementation of these
programmes within the NHS so that those
who could benefit, can benefit."
Meanwhile, a Type 2 diabetes
prevention programme has also been
running in England for the past three
years and has seen encouraging results.
So far, more than 250,000 people who
were on the cusp of developing Type 2
diabetes have been referred to classes
that offer advice and support on food, diet
and exercise. On average, participants
have each lost 8lb (3.6kg) in weight,
greatly reducing their risk of developing
the condition. Dr Shareen Forbes,
reader in diabetes and endocrinology
at the University of Edinburgh, said:
"There are now a number of studies that
demonstrate remission of Type 2 diabetes
with weight loss. Such interventions
can have significant economic impacts
given the levels of Type 2 diabetes now
in society. These are important clinical
studies."
www.bbc.co.uk/news/
On 16 November Verily, Google's sister
company, published a blog post by Chief
Technical Officer Brian Otis referring to
one of Verily's first projects. The idea was
to putting sensors on contact lenses to
measure glucose levels for people living
with diabetes in order that they could
better manage the condition.
Otis said, "Our clinical work on
the glucose-sensing lens has since
demonstrated that there was insufficient
consistency in our measurements of the
correlation between tear glucose and
blood glucose concentrations to support
the requirements of a medical device. We
are at a point where we have decided,
together with Alcon, to put the glucosesensing lens work on hold. We
remain
committed to improving the lives of people
with diabetes including through improved
methods for inexpensive and unobtrusive
glucose sensing to support diabetes
management. We are working closely
with Dexcom to develop miniaturized
continuous glucose monitors and with
Onduo, our joint venture with Sanofi, to
integrate continuous sensing into the
care paradigm for people living with Type
2 diabetes."
www.verily.com/blog
The MiniMed
670G hybrid
closed loop
pump, p.16.