Treatment for certain diabetes cases involves constant monitoring of blood-glucose levels and daily insulin shots. But scientists are now developing a painless “smart” patch that monitors blood glucose and releases insulin when levels climb too high. The report on the device, which has been tested on mice, appears in the journal ACS Nano.

People with Type 1 diabetes don’t make insulin—a hormone that regulates blood glucose, or sugar. Those with Type 2 diabetes can’t use insulin effectively. Either way, glucose builds up in the blood, which can lead to a host of health problems, including heart disease, stroke, blindness and amputation of toes, feet or legs. To avoid these outcomes, people with Type 1 or advanced Type 2 diabetes regularly prick their fingers to measure blood-sugar levels, and some patients must inject themselves with insulin when needed. But sometimes, despite a person’s vigilance, glucose levels can still get out of whack. Zhen Gu and colleagues wanted to come up with a simpler, more effective, shot-free way to manage diabetes.

The researchers developed a skin patch covered in painless microneedles that are loaded with tiny insulin-carrying pouches. The pouches are engineered to break apart rapidly and release the insulin in response to rising glucose levels. Diabetic mice wearing the patch maintained consistent concentrations of insulin in their blood. When these mice received a shot of glucose, their blood sugar levels spiked initially, but then fell to normal levels within two hours.

Interesting.

TUESDAY, Jan. 17, 2017 (HealthDay News) — Just a half hour a day of moderate physical activity could be potent medicine for patients with advanced colon cancer, preliminary research suggests.

Study authors who tracked more than 1,200 colon cancer patients found a 19 percent decline in risk for early death among those who got 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily.

And, five or more hours of moderate — but non-vigorous — activity a week pushed that survival benefit to 25 percent, researchers said.

Antibiotic-resistant superbugs are now killing more people than breast cancer, according to a new data analysis by the UK Sepsis Trust.

According to the British Department of Health, about 5,000 people die each year from drug-resistant infections. But the UK Sepsis Trust and others have criticized these figures for being based on studies conducted in other countries, many of them with flawed methodology.

For the new analysis, the UK Sepsis Trust looked at the Department of Health’s own data to come up with an estimate of 12,000 killed per year by superbugs — more than twice as high as the current estimate.

Pretty soon, your smart watch may know you’re sick before you do, according to US scientists. The researchers made an app which tracked health data — such as heart rate and skin temperature — collected by 60 people’s smart watches for up to two years, and found that people’s stats changed when they were getting sick.

The authors say smart watches could also help detect the risk of type 2 diabetes and low oxygen on planes, and that they even helped detect Lyme disease in one of the scientists behind the study.

Smart watches and similar portable devices are commonly used for measuring steps and physiological parameters, but have not generally been used to detect illness.