Study: Continuous blood sugar monitor best

New York -- A U.S. study has determined type 1 diabetes patients using continuous glucose monitoring improved their HbA1c blood sugar control levels.

The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International-funded trial showed type 1 diabetes patients using continuous glucose monitoring, or CGM, devices experienced significant improvements in HbA1c blood sugar control. HbA1c is a form of hemoglobin that's used to identify the average plasma glucose concentration in a patient's blood during prolonged periods of time.

Researchers said blood sugar control improvement was greatest for CGM patients 25 years or older, whose HbA1c levels decreased during the study by an average of 0.53 percent, as compared with .001 percent for control patients.

"These results are very important, because they show continuous glucose monitors are more than simply devices of convenience for people with diabetes -- they are tools that can substantially improve blood sugar control when used regularly," said Dr. Aaron Kowalski, director for metabolic control at JDRF.

Study results were presented this week in Rome during a meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes. Portions of the data will appear in the Oct. 2 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine and are now available at nejm.org.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International.