Hybrid closed loops improve glycaemic management among young people with type 1 diabetes

Young people with newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes using closed-loop insulin delivery are more likely to have improved glycaemic management than those on standard therapy, a study has shown.

A total of 96 young people aged between 10 and 16 years with newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes started the trial, with only 81 continuing to the extension phase. 

During the four-year-long trial, the participants either used a hybrid closed loop system linked to the app CamAPS FX or received standard insulin therapy.

The results have shown that there was no difference in fasting C-peptide corrected for fasting glucose at 48 months between groups.  

However, the findings have revealed that central laboratory HbA1c remained lower in among those in the closed loop group by 0.9 per cent.

In addition, time in target range of 3.9 to 10.0 mmol/L was 12 percentage points higher among the participants in the closed loop group compared to those in the control group, the study has reported.

Professor Roman Hovorka, Professor of Metabolic Technology Research at the University of Cambridge and Director of CamDiab, said: “This longest ever closed loop study documented a sustained beneficial effect of the CamAPS FX closed loop app on glucose levels in the challenging population of teenagers and young adults.

“Residual insulin secretion was unchanged. All young people with type 1 diabetes should have access to hybrid closed loop as mandated by NICE guidelines.”

CamAPS FX – known as the world’s first artificial pancreas app – helps to manage glucose levels in people with type 1 diabetes, aged two and older, including during pregnancy.

The Android app allows a compatible insulin pump and a compatible continuous glucose monitor to ‘talk to each other’, creating an artificial pancreas.

To access the study, click here.