Diabetes Type II New sweat test can more easily measure blood sugar levels

Monitoring blood sugar could become more painless and stress-free in the future
People with diabetes need to regularly monitor their blood sugar levels. Researchers now found that blood sugar levels can be checked with the help of a sensor by analyzing the sweat of the human skin. This new method could significantly improve the quality of life of those affected.

Seoul National University researchers in South Korea found that a newly developed sensor can effectively monitor blood sugar levels. For this, only the sweat on the skin of the patient is necessary. The physicians published the results of their study in the journal "Science Advances".

Patients with diabetes need to regularly monitor their blood sugar levels. So far, this measurement did not work without stress and mild pain. A newly developed sensor could solve these problems. (Image: Robert Kneschke / fotolia.com)

Newly developed sensor is very accurate
"For the blood glucose level, we do not need a sweat-soaked garment, just a millionth of a liter of sweat," the experts explain. Research has shown that the developed sensor is very accurate and can serve patients with diabetes well.

Sensor can automatically inject medication with the help of a patch
In further tests on mice, the sensor was even connected to a kind of plaster with small needles, so he could automatically inject drugs for diabetes. As a result, patients with diabetes could be prevented from taking painful blood samples in future, according to scientists at Seoul National University.

What is type 1 diabetes?
There are different forms of diabetes. Type 1 diabetes is caused by the immune system and usually occurs in childhood or adolescence. The cause of the disease is often a malfunction of the immune system, this then causes insulin-producing cells in the pancreas die. As a result, the blood sugar level rises and sufferers have to inject insulin.

What is type 2 diabetes?
In contrast, type 2 diabetes is often triggered by the lifestyle of the patients. Excessive overweight, lack of exercise and an unhealthy diet favor the development of type 2 diabetes. In this form of the disease, the blood glucose level is too high. For some patients, insulin injections are also necessary.

Sensor allows easier measurement of blood sugar levels
Patients with these diseases need to medically control their blood sugar levels. Only then can they avoid damage to their bodies, which can even lead to death, explain the physicians. The newly developed sensor could help those affected to more easily measure their blood sugar levels. The sensor is so flexible that it can adapt to movements of the skin.

During the development some challenges had to be overcome
However, the scientists had to overcome a number of challenges to make the sensor work reliably. There is less sugar in human sweat than in blood. Because of this, the sugar is harder to detect. Other chemicals in sweat, such as lactic acid, can add to the results, the researchers add. For this reason, the developed patch has three sensors that measure the sugar content. Four sensors examine the acid in the sweat and a moisture sensor analyzes the amount of sweat.

Portable computer analyzes measured data
All this information is then passed to a portable computer. This performs the analysis to determine the additional values. Pre and post-meal tests showed reliable results of the patch, compared to the results of traditional measures for blood glucose monitoring, say the experts from South Korea.

Further investigations should analyze long-term work of the system
The results show that the current system allows important new advances towards the painless and stress-free treatment of diabetes, say the researchers. Further investigators should now clarify how well the patch works long term. (As)