Artificial Pancreas on the Horizon An artificial pancreas could revolutionize the treatment of diabetes, and it may only be a few years away. From the WebMD Archives
For millions of people with diabetes worldwide, life is a series of fingersticks, injections, and surges and dips in blood sugar levels. But with its promise of automatically regulating a person s blood sugar, the artificial pancreas could change all that. The artificial pancreas will revolutionize the treatment of diabetes, says Eric Renard, MD, PhD, professor of endocrinology, diabetes and metabolism at Montpellier Medical School in Montpellier, France. It will prevent diabetes complications, [which include blindness, kidney failure, amputations, heart disease, and death]. And quality of life will be tremendously improved as people won t have to be constantly pricking and monitoring themselves, says Renard, who is leading the first clinical trial of the device.