Researchers control blood sugar levels in mice via smartphone app
pharmafile | May 2, 2017 | News story | Manufacturing and Production, Research and Development | diabetes
Scientists at Shanghai’s East China Normal University have been able to regulate blood sugar levels in mice via the use of a smartphone app as a result of a new treatment method that utilises a subdermal device in combination with biological approaches.
The study was conducted to find a new and effective way to treat diabetes. The mice’s cells were first genetically engineered to produce blood sugar-regulating drugs such as insulin when exposed to specific wavelengths of red light. This light was then provided by a set of wirelessly powered LEDs implanted into the animals, which could then be controlled via a smartphone app.
It is thought that the new treatment pathway could have promising applications in a number of areas beyond diabetes, and “could pave the way for a new era of personalised, digitalised and globalised precision medicine”, according to the research team. It is possible to tweak the approach to prompt cells to manufacture a range of drugs. As the technology develops, it could potentially become fully automated and self-regulating.
Calling the study an “exciting accomplishment”, Professor Mark Gomelsky, Molecular Biologist at the University of Wyoming, explained: “How soon should we expect to see people on the street wearing fashionable LED wristbands that irradiate implanted cells engineered to produce genetically encoded drugs under the control of a smartphone? Not just yet, but the work provides us with an exciting glimpse into the future of smart cell-based therapeutics.”
Matt Fellows
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