Is an insulin pump the best therapy for everyone with type 1 diabetes?

Insulin pump therapy contributes to better blood glucose control in type 1 diabetes and, as pump technology continues to improve and become part of sensor-controlled feedback and artificial pancreas systems, essentially all patients would benefit from their capabilities according to a Commentary published in Diabetes Technology & Therapeutics (DTT), a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the DTT website until June 17, 2016.

In the Commentary "Is Pump Therapy for All with Type 1 Diabetes?" Darrell M. Wilson, MD, Stanford University, CA, compares and contrasts the advantages and limitations of diabetes management strategies including self-monitoring of blood glucose and multiple daily injections, continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (insulin pumps), and fully closed-loop artificial pancreas systems that combine pump-based insulin delivery with integrated continuous glucose monitoring. The author provides his perspectives on the large knowledge base of published studies that have assessed the safety and effectiveness of different diabetes therapeutic approaches on glycemic control and hypoglycemic events.

"Insulin pump therapy has come farther along in the past 3 decades where pumps are much smaller and can be remotely operated by smartphones," says DTT Editor-in-Chief Satish Garg, MD, Professor of Medicine and Pediatrics at the University of Colorado Denver. "Darrell highlights the importance of pump therapy in children and young adults and pathways leading on to closed-loop systems."