From the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases:
Impact of the Use of Glucose Monitoring and Control Technologies on Health Outcomes and Quality of Life in Older Adults with Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) (DP3)
“Clinical and observational studies indicate that real-time information provided by self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) in patients with diabetes treated with insulin helps to identify/differentiate fasting, pre-prandial, and postprandial hyperglycemia; detect glycemic excursions; identify and treat hypoglycemia; and provide immediate feedback about the effect of food choices, physical activity, and medication on glycemic control, thus improving self-management of the disease. Also, studies indicate a relationship between higher frequency of glucose monitoring and better glycemic control associated with reduction of acute and long term complications in insulin requiring individuals. The availability of novel semi/automated technologies, such as continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) that inform the user in a real time of the level and trends of blood glucose values represents a further advance for the management of the disease. Recent evidence indicates that CGM may contribute to improved glycemic control without an associated increase in hypoglycemia, facilitating the implementation of personalized intensive treatment regimens. Together with insulin delivery devices with automated suspension when hypoglycemia is detected or predicted, such devices may further avoid severe hypoglycemic events.
Recent studies suggest that older adults, particularly those with longstanding diabetes, are more prone to hypoglycemia and hypoglycemia unawareness. Hospital admissions for hypoglycemia surpass those for hyperglycemia among Medicare beneficiaries and hypoglycemia has emerged as a dominant complication of diabetes in older adults with a longer duration of the disease. Hypoglycemia and lack of awareness of it is especially risky in this older population with associated ER visits, accidents, seizures, and cardiac events. Thus, this particular segment of the population could greatly benefit from the use of technologies that may maintain glycemic control with simultaneous avoidance of hypoglycemia.
This initiative seeks to develop information addressing efficacy, safety, quality of life and cost when these devices are used in older adults with T1D to identify strategies to improve management of T1D in this segment of the population. This FOA solicits well-designed, prospective studies to determine whether higher frequency of SMBG, use of CGM and or combination of sensing and insulin delivery devices in an open or closed loop system may contribute to better outcomes in older adults with T1D.”
A letter of intent is due by February 3rd, 2016 and applications are due by March 3rd, 2016 at 5 pm local time.
Find more information here.