A ground-breaking trial which will use hi-tech sensors to measure blood glucose levels in people with diabetes during physical activity will be taking place at Southampton General Hospital.
The trial is the first of its kind in the UK and will study how much of an impact exercise has on blood glucose levels of people with Type 1 diabetes, whilst also taking diet and insulin into account.
The study is led by Professor Christopher Byrne and Dr Andrew Chipperfield. The tiny under-skin devices will be used in conjunction with armbands which will monitor physical activity levels. Thirty volunteers aged between 18 and 75 will take part in the trial funded by Diabetes UK.
The glucose sensor contains a tiny electrode and it weighs less than quarter of an ounce. It is capable of taking up to 300 readings per day via a transmitter which is attached to the skin with an adhesive patch.
During the trial, the physical activity armband will be worn for two blocks of two weeks during the year-long study to record continuous data. This will then be downloaded electronically.
People with type 1, who take insulin to control their diabetes, will welcome this study. Many have problems with low blood sugar episodes and large fluctuations in blood sugar control when they take part in physical exercise.
Professor Byrne, head of endocrinology and metabolism at Southampton University Hospitals NHS Trust says, ‘At the moment, it is uncertain how day-to-day variation in physical activity influences blood glucose in people with type 1 diabetes’.
‘People with diabetes need help to understand the powerful influence of physical activity and exercise on glucose control and how it can play an essential part in avoiding the complications diabetes can bring’.
Type 1 diabetes occurs when the body stops producing insulin completely, it is sometimes known as early-onset diabetes because it predominantly occurs in those under the age of 40 and often in adolescence.