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Tattoo To Monitor Diabetes
infonography notes that the "BBC is reporting about using tattoos to monitor the state of a diabetics' health. While TV's the Invisible Man series had this, this is actually real. Designed by Gerard Cote, of Texas A&M University they are made of polyethylene glycol beads that are coated with fluorescent molecules. Likely this will start to change the attitudes of parents who have been resisting the urging of their kids to get Tattoos."
Remember ppl sitting on your ass all day can give you diabetes :/
My father has diabetes and I don't want to get it myself, I hope with the new generation of genetic research we'll have more of these stories on slashdot.
.. to see Microsoft ads on /.
VS.NET
Never fails to surprise me. It's like Osama buying ad slots in between president's speeches.
is a small, tuxedo'ed midget going to help me with my diabetes? Administering insulin tests, or what?
does this mean that everyone with diabetes will have the same exact tattoo? sure, its a scientific breakthrough blah blah blah, but that would really suck.
to round them up?
;)
For treatment, of course.
Now the glow in the dark bleeding heart "Mom" tattoo will be a fad. Oh well. Better than "Winger"
"Oh no, 3 horny women and only 2 condoms...Thank god I read slashdot"
I don't have any tattoos... I don't particularly want any tattoos, but if it means no more finger pricking (which really sucks, and after a while makes your fingers look like a mess), I think I'd consider it. The cost of finger pricking is also quite expensive, as a box of 100 test strips can cost $50+ (and depending on what you follow, you may test up to 7 or 8 times a day).
My only real concern is that I hope they have some sort of long term treatment/cure worked out in a few years (Cloning, transplants, machines, etc) and I wouldn't really want this tattoo for life. I know some tattoos are easier to remove than others, and I'd want to know about this one. The tattoo really only addresses one issue anyway: the monitoring. The insulin injections would still be required in some form.
P.S. Don't get this disease. It sucks.
Or, remembering a particularly traumatic experience when a friend went hypo, perhaps the words "fuck you" to save them the bother of saying them themselves (yes, I know a hypo diabetic is not in their right mind).
Rich
"Consider yourself a member of a virtual corporation with Mr. Torvalds as your Chief Executive Officer." - Linux Advocac
This sounds like a great idea, and I know many people (my grandfather included) who would prefer this to the finger pricking fun on a regular basis. However, it does raise a couple of questions.
1) How long would it last? Since it ISN'T absorbed into the cells, how long could the fluorescent dye, if you will, stay in the "interstitial fluid"? Would you need a new tattoo every month? year?
2) How much will it cost? The method doesn't really sound that expensive, except for the watch-like device. But will HMOs pay for it? Medicare?
3) How reliable is it? There are some diabetics who are very sensitive to sugar differences. Howa accurate can this be? Does it compare favorably with strips?
"Likely this will start to change the attitudes of parents who have been resisting the urging of their kids to get Tattoos."
Score 1 - "Whaa?"
Sorry, I just have to wonder what part of his ass the poster pulled that out of.
Because that would be cool!!
Don't you think, guys? guys???
And, as an added side feature, the barcode pattern of the tatoo can assist if your child is ever lost or stolen. Hand and forehead options available!
I've had enough abrasive sigs. Kittens are cute and fuzzy.
If this is actually working, I'd happily volunteer to be the first to use it... I think the advantage is not that it's pain-free. I couldn't care less about pricking me in the finger. The real problems with conventional systems are
Also, while devices for continuous measurement are out there, I don't expect them to be really comfortable, and I'd still depend on a device that I have to look after. So if this tattoo proves to be working, I'd be more than happy to use it.
Oh, and a question -- this polymer stuff reminds me of those materials used in modern hard-to-forge banknotes (see here for instance), is that a similar material?
Now all I need is a tattoo to tell me when I've had too much coffee...
My sig sucks.
It sounds like there's a lot of details left to be worked out, but if something like this could serve as a continuous blood glucose diagnostic, I'm so there. Having been an insulin dependent diabetic for the last 13 years or so, a continuous blood glucose monitor has really been the most important missing piece to the whole puzzle.
Sampling my blood sugar once or twice a day is far too infrequent to get a sense of how my blood sugar rises and falls over time. Having a monitor that could record my blood sugar levels even every five minutes would be fantastic. Make it able to sample every five seconds and hook it up to an insulin pump, and you've got as close to a cybernetic cure as one could hope for.
Being an insulin-dependent diabetic is like driving a manual transmission car.. very workable, but you have to do a lot more work, and you have to know what the engine and gears are doing. If it's still too early for a cure, having a really good tachometer would be the next best thing.
And having an intelligent cyber-tattoo would be just too cyber-punky for words. Sign me up.
- jon
Ganymede, a GPL'ed metadirectory for UNIX
Yes! Now I can have a BIG ASS SEARCH & DESTROY tattoo on my back that pops up when I need to up my glooooocose. I'll be Punk Rock & Healthy!
when they ban enctryption only criminals wi$21*J *#JF$%!@#$':
Does it run Linux?
a tattoo for my wife that indicates she has a headache.
great, now we'll have a culture of marked people and not-marked people. there will be social upheaval, there will be two powers in the world, that composed of only the marked and only of the not-marked. they will fight wars for generations across interstellar space.....
cool, when can I get mine?
Jesus saves souls and redeems them for valuable cash prizes
So according to recent articles regarding anime power armor and military proposals, the script writer for "the invisible man" (or appropriate pre-Scifi channel individual to first think of it), are owed money because it was their idea?
Often wrong but never in doubt.
I am Jack9.
Everyone knows me.
The article states that it would be great for diabetics because it makes testing pain free.
:)
I'm thinking that most diabetics are probably used to it? I can't say, as I'm not diabetic, but maybe some diabetics out there can speak of their pain from the needles? Do the finger pricks still hurt or are you immune to the pain after so long now?
It also isn't totally pain free in that you still need a needle for the insulin itself. That and the fact that you have to get the initial tattoo, which is probably going to be a fiar bit of pain compared to a finger prick
Kids, you tried your best and you failed miserably. The lesson is, never try. -- Homer J. Simpson
I HIGHLY doubt this will change parents' attitudes towards their children getting a skull or a big frickin dragon wrapped around their arm. I think as a medical tool, a doctor is not going to give some ridiculous design, more like a small shape (dot, square) located somewhere that can be covered easily yet accessible to the patient to view.
"I'm a leaf on the wind. Watch how I soar."
-Hoban Washburn
De diabetes, boss! De diabetes!
1) This would make it far easier for the patient's loved ones to measure their glucose levels. A mother would be able to check a child's glucose level in the middle of the night without waking him/her up. I can also imagine a coworker saying, "Dude, your glucose looks a little low - maybe you should go eat something." :)
2) Even without a bracelet or necklace identifying the patient as a diabetic, emergency personel could quickly see the patient's gluocose levels. If a diabetic is laying on the side of the road about to enter a coma, saving a few seconds could be critical.
Personally, I like (1) - it would be a huge quality of life improvement.
Hey just cure it. Why bother with tatoos. The folks here are University of alberta developed a cell transplant that cures some forms of the condition. Transplanting a few cells easier and rejections not as bad
I was on a long flight. Blood sugar was bouncing (high/low), a little sick. Didn't want to burden the people around me with my info and did want to set the stews off. I went to the restroom and wrote with a black bic pen (in the mirror), "Diabetic". Also, the "Hi. Im a diabetic" greeting card you put in your wallet falls apart 6 months after you get it. The medi-necklace breaks easy.
The insulin would either get digested or not enter the blood stream in sufficient quantities.
De plane, de plane boss!
I thought Tattoo was only good for monitoring incoming planes, now he can track diabetes?
I hope that someday we will be able to put away our fears and prejudices and just laugh at people. - Jack Handey
Five dolla me sucky sucky!
He's just a normal guy, although he looks vaguely familiar in the way that former sub-celebrities tend to.
Once in a while one of the temps or a new person will start asking him lots of questions about being on a TV series and the whole actor's life. He always let's them down easy: "That was a long time ago. It seems like another life".
Once in the breakroom he said to me: "You know, plants get their carbon from carbon dioxide. That means every tree was once pure air. Think about that shit."
Sometimes I like to think Tim Follows can levitate.
Diabetes and American Indian and Alaska Native Women
r ican_Indian
What is diabetes?
Diabetes is a disorder of metabolism---the way our bodies use digested food for growth and energy. Most of the food we eat is broken down by the digestive juices into a
simple sugar called glucose. Glucose is the main source of fuel for the body. After digestion, the glucose passes into our bloodstream where it is available for body cells to use for growth and energy. For the glucose to get into the cells, insulin must be present. Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas, a large gland behind the stomach.
When we eat, the pancreas is supposed to automatically produce the right amount of insulin to move the glucose from our blood into our cells. In people with diabetes, however, the pancreas either produces little or no insulin, or the body cells do not respond to the insulin that is produced. As a result, glucose builds up in the blood, overflows into the urine, and passes out of the body. Thus, the body loses its main source of fuel even though the blood contains large amounts of glucose.
Is diabetes a health problem for
American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) women?
Type 2, or Non-Insulin Dependent Diabetes Mellitus, affects roughly 16 million Americans. For American Indians/Alaska Natives (AI/AN), both women and men, the incidence rate of type 2 (or adult) diabetes has reached epidemic proportions. Overall, 12.2 percent of AI/AN women and men over the age of 19 have been diagnosed with diabetes. For AI/AN women, the incidence rate is higher at 12.6 percent, compared with 10.2 percent for men. Specific tribes have much higher rates. For example, 50 percent of Pima Indians in Arizona who are between the ages of 30 and 64 have type 2 diabetes.
The following chart shows the incidence of diabetes by age among AI/AN women compared to non-Hispanic White women.
Prevalence of Diagnosed Diabetes-United States, 1997
(per 100,000 women)
Age Group (in years)
AI / AN Women
Non-Hispanic
white women
20 - 44
4.1
1.3
45 - 64
21.7
5.1
65 and older
24.6
11.2
20 and older
10.6
4.5
Age-adjusted prevalence
12.6
4.0
Sources: Data on American Indians/Alaska Natives from the 1997 Indian Health Service Patient Care Component file. Data on non-Hispanic Whites from the 1995 National Health Interview Survey.
Are many AI/AN women dying because of diabetes?
The death rate for the AI/AN population due to diabetes is about 2.7 times the rate for the general U.S. population. And researchers have suggested that this rate is actually even higher. At present, only deaths that list diabetes as the underlying cause are included in this mortality rate. This rate does not include the many deaths in which diabetes is a contributing cause. The death rate for AI/AN women has increased 550 percent over a 30-year period, reports a study conducted in New Mexico. This increase in women's mortality rate from diabetes is more than twice that of AI/AN men.
Why are AI/AN women so susceptible to diabetes?
Diabetes has two main causes. One cause is genetics, which means that the disease tends to reoccur in the same population as people marry and have children within that population. Following that logic, full-blooded subpopulations (such as the Choctaw Indians) have the highest incidence rates of diabetes. The exact genetic causes of the disease are not yet known, but insulin resistance, which is common in Pima Indians, seems to play a part. Also, Pima Indian children are more likely to develop diabetes if their parents also developed diabetes at an early age.
The second cause of diabetes is lifestyle patterns. Obesity is a major risk factor for diabetes. Obesity has become a problem with the Pima Indians, and obesity rates in AI/ AN populations (as in the general U.S. population) have been rising in recent decades. The lifestyle of the AI/AN population has changed. The common diet is now the Western diet, with high amounts of fat, and many individuals get little physical exercise. These lifestyle patterns contribute to obesity and are a direct risk factor for diabetes. In Pima Indians, who have a 50 percent incidence rate of diabetes, 95 percent of those with diabetes are overweight.
How does diabetes affect AI/AN women during pregnancy?
Pregnant AI/AN women with type 2 diabetes are at an increased risk of having babies born with birth defects. These women are also at risk of developing toxemia, a condition that endangers the lives of both the mother and the infant.
Diabetes that shows up in pregnancy is called gestational diabetes. This form of diabetes is more common among certain AI/AN tribes than in the general population. Gestational diabetes increases the baby's risk for problems such as macrosomia (large body size) and neonatal hypoglycemia (low blood sugar).
Although the blood glucose levels of women with gestational diabetes usually return to normal after childbirth, these women have an increased risk of developing gestational diabetes in future pregnancies. In addition, studies show that many women with gestational diabetes will develop type 2 diabetes later in life. Follow-up studies of AI/AN women with gestational diabetes found them to have a high risk of developing subsequent diabetes: 27.5 percent of Pima Indian women developed diabetes within 4 to 8 years after pregnancy, and 30 percent of Zuni Indian women developed diabetes within 6 months to 9 years after pregnancy.
A child with a mother who had diabetes during pregnancy has a very high risk of becoming overweight or obese and developing diabetes at a young age. The exposure to the mother's high blood sugar in the womb contributes to this risk. Longitudinal studies of diabetes in Pima Indians have shown that adult offspring of women with diabetes during pregnancy have significantly higher rates of diabetes than adult offspring of women without diabetes. In fact, 45 percent of the adult offspring of Pima Indian women who were diagnosed with type 2 diabetes prior to their pregnancy developed diabetes by age 20 to 24. In comparison, only 1.4 percent of adult offspring of women without diabetes during their pregnancy went on to develop diabetes by age 24.
The strongest single risk factor for diabetes in Pima children was exposure to diabetes in the womb.
What other complications of diabetes exist in AI/AN women?
Serious complications of diabetes are becoming more prevalent in American Indians and Alaska Natives. The most prominent or concerning are kidney (or renal) failure, amputations, blindness, and heart disease. Ten to twenty percent of all people with diabetes develop kidney disease, and the rate of diabetic end-stage renal failure is six times higher in AI/AN populations. The amputation rates are three to four times higher in AI/AN populations than in the general population. And diabetic retinopathy (which includes all abnormalities of the small blood vessels in the retina of the eye) occurs in 18 percent of Pima Indians and 24.4 percent of Oklahoma Indians.
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, and fatal coronary events are often linked to diabetes. However, these deaths would not be included in the mortality rates for diabetes because diabetes would be considered a "contributing" factor.
Infections, including tuberculosis, are of particular concern to both American Indians and Alaska Natives who have diabetes. A study of Sioux Indians showed that their rate of developing tuberculosis was 4.4 times higher if they had diabetes than if they did not.
How can AI/AN women manage diabetes?
Type 2 diabetes is usually treated by controlling diet, increasing physical activity, testing blood glucose levels at home, and, in some cases, taking oral medication or insulin or both. Approximately 40 percent of individuals with type 2 diabetes require insulin injections.
For more information...
You can find out more about diabetes in women by contacting the following organizations:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
http://www.cdc.gov
Indian Health Service
http://www.ihs.gov
National Women's Health Information Center For Your Heart
http://www.4woman.gov/HHS
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
http://www.niddk.nih.gov
Office on Women's Health : American Indian/Alaska Native http://www.4woman.gov/minority/index.cfm?page=Ame
American Diabetes Association
http://www.diabetes.org
Source: NWHIC; May 2001
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© 2001 Gourmet Connection
Taking control of diabetes has many benefits. Keeping your blood sugar (also called blood glucose) levels in the normal range can make a big difference now and in the future.
In the short run, you will:
Feel better.
Stay healthy.
Have more energy.
Prevent the signs and symptoms of high blood sugar such as: feeling very thirsty and tired; urinating often; losing a lot of weight; having blurred vision; and having cuts or bruises that are slow to heal.
In the long run, you will:
Lower your chances of having diabetes problems such as eye disease, kidney disease, and nerve damage.
Enjoy a better quality of life.
There are many steps you can take to control your diabetes for life. Follow this three-part action plan to get your blood sugar under control:
Know your blood sugar numbers. Get a complete picture of your blood sugar control with the hemoglobin A1c test and the finger-stick test using a blood glucose meter.
Reach your blood sugar goal. Make healthy lifestyle choices with the help of your health care provider.
Keep your blood sugar under control. Create a plan to stick with your self-care goals and manage setbacks.
Tips to Control Blood Sugar
To Start
Test your blood sugar. Ask your health care provider when and how often.
Keep a record of your blood tests, medicines, and daily events. Review the record with your health care provider.
Take your diabetes medicine as prescribed.
Eat foods to control your blood sugar. See a dietitian to create a meal plan that is right for you.
Get physical activity. If you haven't been active, start slowly. Good activities are walking and swimming.
Check your feet for cuts, blisters, red spots, and swelling. Call your health care provider right away about any sores that won't heal.
To Keep in Mind Along the Way
Stay at a weight that is right for you. Ask your health care provider what you should weigh.
Treat low blood sugar quickly with special tablets or gel made of glucose.
Don't smoke. Talk to your health care provider about ways to quit.
Learn more about diabetes and diabetes self-care. Ask your health care provider to suggest a dietitian and a diabetes educator to help you manage your diabetes.
Seek support from family and friends or join a diabetes support group. Call your local hospital or health department to find a support group.
To Do With Your Health Care Providers
Write down your questions and take them with you to each visit.
Ask for a hemoglobin A1c test at least twice a year and know what your test result means.
Ask for regular blood pressure checks, cholesterol tests, and other blood fat tests.
Have your feet, eyes, and kidneys checked at least once a year or more often if you have problems.
See your dentist at least twice a year. Tell your dentist you have diabetes.
Tips to Maintain Blood Sugar Control
Set Goals You Can Reach
Break a big goal into small steps. If you plan to increase your physical activity, start by taking one 5-minute walk three times a week. Then try walking longer or more often.
Make changes that you can stick with for the rest of your life. If you want to lose weight and keep it off, be active and limit portion sizes. Don't just go on a "diet."
Create a Plan to Deal With Diabetes
Think about all your reasons for staying in control of your blood sugar. Make a list and post it where you see it often.
Figure out what can tempt you to slip up when it comes to blood sugar control. Decide now how you will handle these events next time.
Reward yourself for staying in control. Rent a movie, buy a plant, or spend time with a friend.
Ask for a little help from friends and family when you're down or need someone to talk to.
Manage Setbacks
Admit that you've slipped. Learn what you can from it.
Don't be too hard on yourself. A setback is not the end of the world.
Source: NDEP
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© 2001 Gourmet Connection
People of these ethnicities should go back to their more natural, non-western diet. Excess carbs are causing this problem, and going to low-carb helps many people with type 2 diabetes a lot. Many are even able to get completely off medication.
Or, even, tattoo it to your wrist and have a colour sensor in your watch that started bleeping if your sugar levels changed too much.
Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from a rigged demo
--Andy Finkel (J. Klass?)
I dunno, I saw the title and immeadiately thought of a little guy saying "De blood sugar, de blood sugar!"
.... need to eat.
Speaking of which
"Tattoo To Monitor Diabetes"
... uhh.. Shit. Can anybody think of a diabetes related word that rhymes with 'plane'?
Look boss! The
"Derp de derp."
Factors That Affect Glucose Meter Performance And Making Sure Your Meter Works Properly
The accuracy of your test results depends partly on the quality of your meter and test strips and your training. Other factors can also make a difference in the accuracy of your results.
Hematocrit.
Hematocrit is the amount of red blood cells in the blood. Patients with higher hematocrit values will usually test lower for blood glucose than patients with normal hematocrit. Patients with lower hematocrit values will test higher. If you know that you have abnormal hematocrit values you should discuss its possible effect on glucose testing (and HbA1C testing) with your health care provider. Anemia and Sickle Cell Anemia are two conditions that affect hematocrit values.
Other Substances.
Many other substances may interfere with your testing process. These include uric acid (a natural substance in the body that can be more concentrated in some people with diabetes), glutathione (an "anti-oxidant" also called "GSH"), and ascorbic acid (vitamin C). You should check the package insert for each meter to find what substances might affect its testing accuracy, and discuss your concerns with your health care provider.
Altitude, Temperature and Humidity.
Altitude, room temperature, and humidity can cause unpredictable effects on glucose results. Check the meter and test strip package insert for information on these issues. Store and handle the meter and test strips according to the instructions.
Third-Party Test Strips.
Third-party or "generic glucose reagent strips" are test strips developed as a less expensive option than the strips that the manufacturer intended the meter to be used with. They are typically developed by copying the original strips. Although these strips may work on the meter listed on the package, they could look like strips used for other meters. Be sure the test strip you use is compatible with your glucose meter.
Sometimes manufacturers change their meters and their test strips. These changes are not always communicated to the third-party strip manufacturers. This can make third-party strips incompatible with your meter without your knowledge. Differences can involve the amount, type or concentration of the chemicals (called "reagents") on the test strip, or the actual size and shape of the strip itself. Meters are sensitive to these features of test strips and may not work well or consistently if they are not correct for a meter. If you are unsure whether or not a certain test strip will work with you meter, contact the manufacturer of your glucose meter.
Making Sure Your Meter Works Properly
You should perform quality-control checks to make sure that your home glucose testing is accurate and reliable. Several things can reduce the accuracy of your meter reading even if it appears to still work. For instance, the meter may have been dropped or its electrical components may have worn out. Humidity or heat may damage test strips. It is even possible that your testing technique may have changed slightly. Quality control checks should be done on a regular basis according to the meter manufacturer's instructions. There are two kinds of quality control checks:
Check Using "Test Quality Control Solutions" or "Electronic Controls".
Test quality control solutions and electronic controls are both used to check the operation of your meter. Test quality control solutions check the accuracy of the meter and test strip. They may also give an indication of how well you use your system. Electronic controls only check that the meter is working properly.
Test quality control solutions have known glucose values. Essentially, when you run a quality control test, you substitute the test solution for blood. The difference is that you know what the result should be.
To test your meter with a quality control solution, follow the instructions that accompany the solution. These will guide you to place a certain amount of solution on your test strip and run it through your meter. The meter will give you a reading for the amount of glucose in the sample. Compare this number to the number listed on the test quality control solution. If the results of your test match the values given in the quality control solution labeling, you can be assured the entire system (meter and test strip) is working properly. If results are not correct, the system may not be accurate--contact the manufacturer for advice.
Manufacturers sometimes include quality control solution with their meter. However, most often you must order it separately from a manufacturer or pharmacy.
Some glucose meters also use electronic controls to make sure the meter is working properly. With this method, you place a cartridge or a special "control" test strip in the meter and a signal will appear to indicate if the meter is working.
Take Your Meter with You to The Health Care Provider's Office.
This way you can test your glucose while your health care provider watches your technique to make sure you are using the meter correctly. Your healthcare provider will also take a sample of blood and evaluate it using a routine laboratory method. If values obtained on the glucose meter match the laboratory method, you and your healthcare provider will see that your meter is working well and that you are using good technique. If results do not match the laboratory method results, then results you get from your meter may be inaccurate and you should discuss the issue with your healthcare provider and contact the manufacturer if necessary.
Source: FDA
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© 2001 Gourmet Connection
When science catches up, it just ceases to be science fiction.
This sounds like subdermal phosphorescence as discussed in Otherland and other novels as a next generation rebellious self-mutilation.
In other words, like tatoos for the '70's and earrings for the '80's, phosphorescence will be for the future.
As a professional tattoo artist, and a liscensed one to boot, I am regularly asked if I can/will do the new flourescent tattoos, and I always give the exact same answer. "NO!"
In 20 years, I may, but right now, while there have never been any long term tests to see if these tattoos will cause bodily harm, I refuse to put flourescent ink in anyone. There have been no tests to aprove the flourescent inks for permanent cosmetic use, so no one is certain that these inks are safe. Every bottle of ink in my shop comes with about 20 pages of paperwork documenting that the inks have passed years of medical testing, and have been found safe. The flourescent inks do not come with this paperwork, so I refuse stock those inks.
Think about it, things that glow usualy come with warnings saying not to ingest, that means it's not safe. When you put ink in your skin, it does the same thing as if you swallow it.
--Forest C. Adcock--
The obvious next step is to vary the type of material being used linearly across the tattoo itself, turning it into a "glucose meter".
As an interesting aside, could this method be used to produce tattoos that were more easily removable as well?
I think I would want this to be removable, particularly when stem cell research finally cures diabetes once and for all, and you are left with a legacy tattoo.
-- Terry
"Whoa, the room's spinning and I'm about to faint, but my tattoo is still red so I must be okay."
the same group will also be marketing tongue piercings that double as thermometers and eye piercings that monitor for glaucoma.
I know this is slightly off topic but while we are discussing Diabetes, The symptoms should probably be mentioned.
Ten warning signs which should send you to your doctor:
1. Abnormal, intense thirst
2. Frequent urination.
3. Extreme hunger.
4. Sudden, unexplained weight loss.
5. Slow-healing cuts, bruises or skin infections.
6. Recurrent infections.
7. Blurred vision.
8. Unexplained weakness and extreme exhaustion.
9. Genital itching or impotence.
10. Sweet-smelling breath.
you never know the kidneys you save may be your own.
Wow, so many type-1 diabetics. Is there a forum somewhere for type-1 diabetics who are interested in /.-y things? I'd be interested in joining one if such a thing existed.
-Thom Covert
thomc@nospam.mit.edu
I dont have a
Better living through chemistry, man.
This really has great medical potential, but I can imagine similar developments of the future used for other purposes. Being able to monitor bodily chemicals could be extremely valuable, but also subject to unexpected uses.
As condition of your employment, you agree to a permanent tattoo that indicates drug use.
Or,
The court orders you to get a drug-monitoring tattoo and scan it by your home internet-connected device every 6 hours.
that the little fella finally got a decent job. He was so crushed when Mr. Raurk gave him the boot.
Well, good! I'm happy to see that the little fart is doing something useful with himself, after that failure with his StayFree Mini-Pads.
I remember reading a while back about a "needle" that was created using a process similar to etching computer chips. Basically, it consisted of numerous tiny needles in a grid (10,000 to a square inch or something), which reach deep enough into the skin to enter the capillary system, but not deep enough to trigger the nerves and register pain.
I thought this device would have great application in both glucose testing and medication delivery, but haven't heard anything abou it lately. Does this sound familiar to anyone?
Someone you trust is one of us.
now that the tattoo IS what it always appeared to be... a circuit drawn on the body... i would think that people would flee from tattoo parlors. No, thank you, i wouldn't like to have some kind of circuit-implant drawn on my body, even if it is a tasteful little rose.
Da Plane! Da Plane!
How long does it take a palestinian whore to make a bomb?
9 Months!
Has long as it's not on the forehead, I'm all for it.
Notice the diabetic in the picture has a large, red tattoo across her forehead. If it takes one of THOSE bloody things to let people know when I'm having a sugar fit then forget it.
</sarcasm>
Am I the only one who heard Roxette to sing "I'm gonna get blitzed for some sex"?
Now I will download goatse.cx and have it tatooed! No need to spam anymore.
I am a type one diabetic, who doesn't test levels any where near as much as I should. While I can clearly see that continuous blood glucose monitoring would be a god send, it's not quite what we need.
Now if we could combine continuous monitoring with an insulin delivery device, in such a way that the monitor controls the delivery, that would be pure heaven.
Imagine, insert an insulin and mabe a glucose cartridge every week or so, the monitor tells the device to deliver insulin when it detects a rise in glucose, and tells the device to deliver glucose when the glucose levels drop to hypoglycemic levels.
You could do anything you want, safe in the knowledge that your diabetes management device would keep your levels within not only safe, but healthy levels.
No more worrying if your late with dinner, or early with dinner - the glucose and insulin doses will even it out, want to go for a run, just go - the glucose will make up the shortfall if needed, want to veg out on the couch, by all means - the device wil just supply a little more insulin to cover your lazyness. It'd be like having a superislet (islet's are the cells that produce insulin for you non-diabetics).
I think the delivery is the easy bit, you could just strap a small device with a needle to your arm or something. The monitoring is the difficult bit, from what I know of the current continuous monitors they are neither accurate or infact particularly continuous.
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My doctor just switched me from Humulin Lente to a new type of insulin called Lantus. It's a Basal insulin that works over a period of ~24 hours. It has no pronounced spike in it's effectiveness, and it seems to be working pretty well... The only problem is you can't mix it wirh regular, but since you take the shot at night before bed, how often do you take regular at that point in time? After 12 years of being insulin dependent, since i was diagnosed at age 9, this is one of the better things i've been able to try out. If this tattoo works as it's claimed, and it can be accurate, then it would work wonders at controlling my bloodsugar, which it desperately needs. I just cant wait to get a tattoo of Beastie on my arm...
the pills people take today aren't really insulin... they just help your body use the insulin that you do produce, or coax more out of you. they only work for people who have relatively functional pancreases.
real oral insulin instead of insulin injections/pump would be a major breakthrough, and there is much work in the field. There seems to be some very promising work on this at Purdue, which may be related to the current Nobex clinical trials. Israeli researchers have a line on it, too. Shots may well soon be a thing of the past!
If you can see this, feed me donut
OTOH I should not be giving Cowboyneal any ideas.
badness 10000
What would be even cooler would be to start seeing this technology, and "adaptive tattoos" in general made available to the general populace. The ability to have tattoos that change their appearance depending on physiological conditions would open up new worlds of expression. Anyone who's read Nylund's "Signal to Noise" will remember the character Panda's always-changing eyelid tattoos. Very cool.
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the private shouldn't become public. While it would be good to see my hubby's BGLs, I don't think he'd want his boss to see. It's only his employer's concern if stress is raising his BGL (which it invariably does).
All ambulances carry testing kits. Most take less than five seconds these days. I don't see the point of a tattoo. What, are we going to go around branding everyone who has a medical condition?
Just as bad are those chips you can get that catalogue every ailment you've ever had. Maybe I'm just paranoid, but I wouldn't want that information falling into the wrong hands, and I doubt that a microchip is going to be of much use if I fall ill in a jungle somewhere.
My plea to the scientific community - find a similar use for piercings, man! I've had it with the paranoia and all the planning that goes into hiding my (nipple) piercing from my family & the more bigoted friends...
My situation was similar - surprised by a Type 1 Diabetes diagnosis at age 25, a few months after the major lifestyle change of moving to Ireland, getting a mobile phone, cooking my own food. No history in my family. Good health, even skinny.
As a brother-in-law said, there's never been a better time to be diabetic. Thanks to insulin treatment, it's mostly an inconvenience; 100 years ago, it would be an agonizing life of sickness and early death.
On that cheery note, I'll start pricing tatoos.
....can you get it in the shape of a tight-ass snake?
I belong to the ______ generation.
Like all commercial solutions to chronic medical conditions, it will cost exactly as much as they think they can get away with. That number is determined by the cost of developing and implementing an actual complete cure, minus a little, as a margin of safety.
to me, it feels more like peddlin' a 4x4!!
Then, I can demand that all the females are hooked up with masturbation-monitoring tattoos. Wet a finger, instant endorphine-spike!! Add a location monitor, and you have a horny female locator!!! ;D
Likely this will start to change the attitudes of parents who have been resisting the urging of their kids to get Tattoos.
what to keep their kids from going with the crowd and acting like mindless sheep and getting tattoos?
only a un-origional follower does what everyone else does... so go get a tatto you un-origional wannabe!
be origional..... try not looking like a freak.
Polyethelene Glycol is the major component of antifreeze, if I remember right...
Weren't we always told not to touchor drink the stuff as kids?
The Dopester
"Yes, I'm a Karma Whore, but I'm doing it to pay my way through school."
One of the most interesting advances in the last few years is the use of the INGAP peptide to stimulate the production of beta cell production. It turns out that a Type I diabetic continues to produce the necessary beta cells that would replace those that have already been killed off by the body. So the question is how do you get the body to produce more of these cells than it destroys via the auto-immune response? That is where the INGAP peptide comes in, boosting the production of beta cells from stem cells.
The tests have passed the preliminary human trials and have ramped up to a trial of 300 or so diabetics earlier this year. So far no side-effects have been seen and positive reduction of insulin dependance has been recorded.
Of note another group is looking to block the auto-immune response to allow natural stem cell production to replace the damaged cells.
I am heading into my 20th year of Type I diabetes and the INGAP group is one of the few to have gotten past initial FDA Phase 1 trials. Perhaps in 5 years a daily or weekly pill may be all that is needed to control this condition. Until then it is Lantus and multiple daily BG tests using the Freestyle reader and some fast acting humilin to bring high BG levels down...
JM
Your global village idiot!
...is that the benefits of a low-carb way of life would become more widely demonstrated, as would the idiocies of the low-fat fad.
In addition to the realization of just how much nutritional disinformation we are being fed by the popular media, we would see widespread consciousness-raising in regard to the deleterious effects of unnatural substances in our diets (sugar, grains, trans-fats, etc). The relative benefits of various types of exercise would be more readily apparent, and immediate feedback would encourage more healthy lifestyles.
There is already ample evidence that one of the major keys to a long and healthy life is the reduction of the amount of insulin your body needs (others include wearing seat belts, avoiding violent crime, getting ample sleep, avoiding environmental poisons, not taking gratuitous risks, not smoking, etc.).
One can only hope that some better way of doing this can be found. Since current bg monitoring is done by IR absorption/transmission, I would think that a small IR reflector could be implanted, perhaps just under an artery or vein in the arm near the skin's surface. Then a monitor could use this to directly read bg (perhaps with occasional calibration with other methods) using a short IR burst.
Other things I'd like to be able to measure (inexpensively) in real time: Insulin level, HD/LD/TG, ghrelin (and its recently-discovered agonist, which doesn't have a popular name yet), white cell count, seritonin, and DHEAS. Might find some other items worth monitoring, to add to that list. Gathering a large amount of data on these things might result in a quantum leap in real knowledge on a subject that is now characterized by 'research' that consists largely of:
1) Writing a conclusion based on current biases,
2) Collecting data artfully chosen to support that conclusion,
3) Submitting the 'research' based primarily on the pre-conceived conclusion for review by people with the same or similar biases, and
4) Getting published in a journal of some mutual admiration society.
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Put it somewhere where it can't be seen or you'll get endless wisecracks about "Gee Bob, you're a little cranky. Looks like your blood sugar is a bit low, eh?"
It is by the juice of the coffee bean that thoughts acquire speed, the teeth acquire stains. The stains become a warning
They should install a little flag that pops out of the top of your head like a turkey thermometer. *POP* "Low blood sugar, time to get a snack!"
It is by the juice of the coffee bean that thoughts acquire speed, the teeth acquire stains. The stains become a warning
I personally think he should stay on Fantasy Island and continue to help our Mr. Roarke. I mean, this is obviously a step down on the ladder...
See Dr. Bernstein's Diabetes Solution for details.
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I agree with most of your post, but...
If "unnatural substances in our diets" cause "deleterious effects", then why has life expectancy increased by 30 years in the last century? Note that antibiotics and other medical advances only account for a fraction of that time.
Maybe the unnatural substances in our diets are not so bad for us.
"Life expectancy" over the last century is a misleading average, which includes, among other things, two global wars in the first half of the last century. *Maximum* lifespan has remained fairly constant, while infant mortality and death of women during childbirth has declined. Various medical advances do in fact account for most of that improvement. The remainder is mostly from changes which make driving and working safer (divided highways, workplace safely rules, etc).
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