Posted on 09/01/2022 2:34:45 PM PDT by ConservativeMind
Tight control of blood sugar in teens with Type 1 diabetes may help reduce the disease's damaging effects on the brain, effects which have been shown even in younger children, according to a study. The findings indicate that better glucose control can actually improve brain structure and function in youth with Type 1 diabetes, bringing them closer to their peers without diabetes, investigators said.
"These results offer hope that harm to the developing brain from Type 1 diabetes might be reversible with rigorous glucose control," said the paper's senior author, and co-principal investigator, pediatric endocrinologist Nelly Mauras, MD. "Use of an automated hybrid closed-loop system—an insulin delivery system linked to a continuous glucose monitor—was associated with better blood glucose concentrations, which translated in our study to quantifiable differences in brain structure and cognition."
Participants using the closed-loop glucose control system showed significantly greater improvement than the standard care group in key brain metrics indicative of normal adolescent brain development—in other words, their results were closer to those of teens without diabetes.
"We have known for some time that better control of blood glucose levels in persons with Type 1 diabetes can prevent or reduce damage to a number of biological systems (for example, kidney, eyes, nerves, blood vessels). Our new research joins with other studies to highlight that better control of blood glucose levels in children with Type 1 diabetes can potentially reduce injury to the maturing brain and lead to measurable improvements in brain development and function as well," said Allan Reiss, MD.
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease, in which the body's immune system mistakenly destroys insulin-producing cells in the pancreas. This study builds on previous research showing that strict blood sugar control leads to lower rates of diabetes complications such as blindness, kidney failure, and amputations.
(Excerpt) Read more at medicalxpress.com ...
Tight control of glucose is key.
That’s true for type 2, but not type 1.
Type 1 doesn’t make insulin, and glucose will be converted from any carbohydrate a person eats. I don’t think one can be 100% carb free.
Type 1 diabetics need insulin first and foremost.
Type 2 might as well be a whole other disease.
I am a type 1.
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