Australian doctors develop new treatment for type 1 diabetes sufferers

Australian doctors have developed a new pump for type 1 diabetes patients to avoid life-threatening seizures and comas, local media reported on Friday. Dr Tim Jones, head of the Department of Endocrinology at Princess Margaret Hospital for Children in Perth, Western Australia, said that they had developed an artificial "pancreas- like" pump that delivers and suspends insulin in diabetes patients. The new device can identify a potentially fatal coma in patients and suspend the supply of insulin when their blood-sugar levels get dangerously low. "Some patients will notice symptoms like a pounding heart and shakiness as their blood glucose drops," Jones said. "Other people don't experience any warning signs at all, meaning the reliance on this technology is even great." Jones said the new pump can help patients avoid episodes of hypoglycaemia. Mike Wilson, chief executive of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation said the development has brought Australia a step closer to the creation of a fully automated artificial pancreas.