Gaia
03-17-2008, 05:11 PM
Saw this on a newsbreak during G.H. and looked it up on the website. Thought it might be interesting to read & discuss.
Finger-prick alternative for diabetics?
Monday, March 17, 2008 | 4:02 PM
Seven's On Call with Dr. Jay Adlersberg
By Dr. Jay AdlersbergNEW YORK (WABC) -- Every day, millions of diabetics go through the painful, time-consuming process of drawing blood.
But they soon may be able to check their blood sugar without any needles.
Seven's On Call with Dr. Jay Adlersberg to explain.
Fourteen-year-old Robby Mansfield pricks his finger seven times a day. That means this young baseball fan tests his blood sugar 2,555 times a year.
But now, there may be a painless way to collect those numbers. Dr. Pietro Galassetti thinks he's found it.
Galassetti collected breath samples from diabetic children while blood sugar levels were high and as levels fell in response to insulin.
Using a technique developed to test air pollution, chemists detected high concentrations of methyl nitrate, a by-product of the damage to body tissue when blood sugar levels are too high.
"And we saw that the children who had high blood sugar had very high methyl nitrate in their breath," Dr. Galassetti said. "And then, as we gradually corrected the blood sugar, the methyl nitrate in their breath was coming down."
While still five to 10 years off, Galasetti sees a hand-held breath analyzer replacing the blood test.
"Not having to stop and test his blood, just be able to blow into a canister or whatever," Robby's mom, Judy, said. "It'll be pretty amazing."
"It would be a lot easier," Robbie said. "I could have more of a normal life without having to step out every couple of hours to test my blood sugar."
If it's easy, kids are more likely to do it. Controlling glucose levels now lowers Robby's chance of complications down the road.
Breath analysis has already shown promise in diagnosing ulcers and cystic fibrosis. Dr. Galassetti says that eventually, we may be able to monitor insulin and cholesterol with a breath test.
http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/health&id=6025710
Finger-prick alternative for diabetics?
Monday, March 17, 2008 | 4:02 PM
Seven's On Call with Dr. Jay Adlersberg
By Dr. Jay AdlersbergNEW YORK (WABC) -- Every day, millions of diabetics go through the painful, time-consuming process of drawing blood.
But they soon may be able to check their blood sugar without any needles.
Seven's On Call with Dr. Jay Adlersberg to explain.
Fourteen-year-old Robby Mansfield pricks his finger seven times a day. That means this young baseball fan tests his blood sugar 2,555 times a year.
But now, there may be a painless way to collect those numbers. Dr. Pietro Galassetti thinks he's found it.
Galassetti collected breath samples from diabetic children while blood sugar levels were high and as levels fell in response to insulin.
Using a technique developed to test air pollution, chemists detected high concentrations of methyl nitrate, a by-product of the damage to body tissue when blood sugar levels are too high.
"And we saw that the children who had high blood sugar had very high methyl nitrate in their breath," Dr. Galassetti said. "And then, as we gradually corrected the blood sugar, the methyl nitrate in their breath was coming down."
While still five to 10 years off, Galasetti sees a hand-held breath analyzer replacing the blood test.
"Not having to stop and test his blood, just be able to blow into a canister or whatever," Robby's mom, Judy, said. "It'll be pretty amazing."
"It would be a lot easier," Robbie said. "I could have more of a normal life without having to step out every couple of hours to test my blood sugar."
If it's easy, kids are more likely to do it. Controlling glucose levels now lowers Robby's chance of complications down the road.
Breath analysis has already shown promise in diagnosing ulcers and cystic fibrosis. Dr. Galassetti says that eventually, we may be able to monitor insulin and cholesterol with a breath test.
http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/health&id=6025710