- Center on Health Equity and Access
- Clinical
- Health Care Cost
- Health Care Delivery
- Insurance
- Policy
- Technology
- Value-Based Care
Wearable Device Affects Fat Loss, Blood Sugar Regulation in Diabetes
A new wearable medical device helped patients replace a stress response that is lost for those with type 2 diabetes.
Japanese researchers have developed a wearable device that could help overweight persons with type 2 diabetes (T2D) lose visceral fat and improve glycemic control.
The team at Kumamoto University has created a belt that uses a special rubber to transmit mild electrical stimulation (MES) and heat shock. A clinical trial with the belt on obese men with T2D found reductions in visceral fat, improved insulin resistance, and a significant improvement in glycated hemoglobin (A1C), which was reduced 0.43%.
Findings were published in the journal Scientific Reports.
How does the device work? According to the team, the heat shock response increases in response to stress, but its function declines when a person has T2D. The purpose of the belt is to restore that response, with a combination of MES.
In the trial, 60 obese patients with T2D from both genders were given a 12-week treatment with the belt. The participants used it for 60 minutes per session, and divided into groups that received either 2, 4, or 7 treatments per week. According to the study, participants were not permitted to change their diet or exercise routines during this period.
Results were as follows: In the group with 2 treatments per week, visceral fat was reduced 5.37 cm2 and A1C dropped 0.10%; in the group with 4 treatments, visceral fat declined 14.24 cm2 and A1C dropped 0.36%; and in the group with 7 treatments, visceral fat declined 16.45 cm2 and A1C dropped 0.65%. Test subjects also experienced improvements in chronic inflammation, fatty liver markers, renal function, and lipid profile.
In addition, those patients using the belt while taking a dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor, the T2D drug class most often used in Japan, showed even greater improvements, researchers said.
Reference
Kondo T, Goto R, Ono K. Activation of heat shock response to treat obese subjects with type 2 diabetes: a prospective, frequency-escalating, randomized, open-label, triple-arm trial [published online October 19, 2016]. Scientific Reports. 2016; 6:35690. doi:10.1038/srep35690
Beyond Insulin: The Impact of Next-Generation Diabetes Technology
April 17th 2024Experts explain how new diabetes technologies like continuous glucose monitors are transforming care beyond intensive insulin therapy, offering personalized insights and improving outcomes for patients of all treatment levels.
Read More
How Can Employers Leverage the DPP to Improve Diabetes Rates?
February 15th 2022On this episode of Managed Care Cast, Jill Hutt, vice president of member services at the Greater Philadelphia Business Coalition on Health, explains the Coalition’s efforts to reduce diabetes rates through the Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP).
Listen
Balancing Care Access and Fragmentation for Better Outcomes in Veterans With Diabetes
April 22nd 2021The authors of a study in the April 2021 issue of The American Journal of Managed Care® discuss the possible reasons behind the link between care fragmentation and hospitalizations in veterans with diabetes, as well as potential opportunities to address disjointed care in the context of the widespread telehealth uptake seen during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Listen
