Minute Lecture: Using Data to Visualise Congenital Hyperinsulinism скачать в хорошем качестве

Minute Lecture: Using Data to Visualise Congenital Hyperinsulinism

Find out more about hyperinsulinism:    • What is Congenital Hyperinsulism?   Read our recent paper: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1... The charities supporting this week: https://www.hyperinsulinism.co.uk/ https://congenitalhi.org/ Reducing dangerous low blood sugar levels through data visualisations It may seem odd, but sugar is vital for day to day life. It provides our body with the energy we need to do all sorts of incredible things – it means we can run, jump and dance! When it comes to measuring how much sugar is in our bodies, we can check a blood glucose level. Glucose is a type of sugar and this test measures the amount that is contained in the blood. Having too much glucose can slowly cause long term damage to our bodies. However, even more dangerous is when our bodies have low levels of glucose in the blood. This is called hypoglycaemia. Hypoglycaemia is a risk for people with conditions such as diabetes when too much injected insulin can cause glucose to drop. Another cause for hypoglcaemia is congenital hyperinsulinism (CHI). CHI is a rare condition but is the commonest cause of hypoglycaemia in children under the age of 1. Whatever the cause, hypoglycaemia can cause our bodies to shut down, as our brains don’t have enough energy to function. In extreme cases, this can lead to brain damage and even death. It is therefore really important that patients understand when their blood glucose levels are low so they can try and stop this from happening. Historically, to test for hypoglycaemia, we needed a small sample of blood to measure using a blood glucose meter. More recently, patients have been able to use devices that automatically check glucose under the skin every 5 minutes without pricking their finger for a blood sample. This device is called a Continuous Glucose Monitor or CGM. Patients and doctors try to make sense of all this CGM information to better understand what can be changed to prevent hypoglycaemia. Looking at the data can allow patients to see what their glucose is doing through the day and help them to spot any patterns. However, current methods for visualising glucose data are so complicated and messy that most patients, and doctors, struggle to spot any useful patterns of hypoglycaemia. Recently, at the UoM, we have simplified this process for patients with CHI by presenting several weeks of glucose data in one chart. This quickly shows where in the week they are having hypoglycaemia rather than just in each day. Families can then change things such as meal times, exercise and medicines to stop their hypoglycaemia happening in the first place. Early trials indicate that charts like this can lead to lifestyle adjustments and a real reduction in hypoglycaemia. If you would like to learn more about the effects of hypoglycaemia for children with CHI, then please watch this video:    • The Effects of Hypoglycaemia in Congenital...   or visit one of the websites in the description below.