Diabetes is a disease that renders the body unable to effectively regulate blood glucose levels--a condition nearly 16 million Americans suffer from.
One type of the disease, juvenile onset diabetes, occurs when beta cells in the pancreas attack insulin, a protein that regulates glucose levels.
A second type, usually found in adults, is caused by the body's metabolic machinery becoming defective and unable to properly use insulin to regulate blood glucose levels.
When insulin is in short supply, glucose accumulates in the circulatory system, causing a chain of events that raise the acidity of the person's blood, ultimately leading to a diabetic coma and death if not treated.
Another complication, low blood sugar, arises when a diabetic takes a dosage of insulin that is too large.
Too much insulin causes the body to metabolize glucose excessively. This condition, also known as hypoglycemia, has a variety of levels of severity, but the lowest blood sugar levels also can result in a coma.
Diabetics currently must use a finger prick test 4-6 times a day to effectively monitor blood glucose levels.
Cygnus, a company based in California, has developed a device that is more convenient for diabetics.
"Their GlucoWatch Biographer provides noninvasive readings for 13 hours, requiring only an initial finger prick measurement to calibrate the device. This initial calibration accounts for differences in the permeability of people's skin," said Janet Tamada, a researcher at Cygnus.
While the most promising aspect of the Biographer is that it can provide hours of painless glucose readings, work is being done to further ease the use of the GlucoWatch Biographer by means of a noninvasive method to monitor skin permeability.
The Biographer works by a process known as reverse iontonophoresis. In the skin, the main barrier to transport is the outer layer, the dead cells of the epidermis. Electrostatic forces of attraction and repulsion can be used to cross this barrier.
With the aid of cathode and an anode to conduct an electrical current across the skin, ions in solution can cross the skin barrier.
Large uncharged molecules needed to test glucose levels in the blood can accompany the ions past the skin cells.
Once inside, these molecules can be used by the device to carry out a reaction with glucose that releases two electrons.
These electrons can be read by a biosensor and the number of electrons released indicates how much glucose is present.
The GlucoWatch Biographer has several advantages over conventional methods of glucose-testing for diabetics.
This especially is true in the case of children who suffer from juvenile onset diabetes and are susceptible to nocturnal low blood sugar levels.
In the past, parents have been encouraged to wake their children each night at 3a.m. and take a measurement to prevent potential seizures.
The Glucowatch eliminates this by providing continuous night-time monitoring, and issues an alert if glucose levels are either too low or too high.
Diabetics usually perform tests before and after meals. If they fail to do so, they may be susceptible to certain types of complications that occur after meals. This is another situation where the Biographer shines in its ability to continue monitoring for a long period.
Some brittle diabetics have fluctuating blood glucose levels that need particular monitoring. Yet again, the Glucowatch eliminates the need for multiple readings, and reduces the nuisance of constant pricking.
The device still is trying to gain broad commercial acceptance, and its price still is too high for it to be available to everyone with diabetes.
"Cygnus argues that the cost of the device is more than offset by savings in emergency room costs for diabetics who are not actively checking their blood glucose levels," Tamada said.
Don't be surprised if, in a few years, millions of people are wearing two watches -- one that tells time, and the other, their blood glucose levels.
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