Current therapeutic strategies for patients with DIABETES, are aimed at improving metabolic control, thus achieving near normal glycemia, minimize the risk of severe hypoglycemia, improve quality of life and delay or prevent vascular complications at a later stage. The use of Insulin pump has become more and more popular and is providing a treatment that can help in achieving these goals. Yet, this also necessitates repeated measurements of the blood glucose levels in order to administer the appropriate insulin doses. Similarly, continuous glucose monitoring devices have been developed in order to get a more intensive and accurate blood measurements. Many entrepreneurs today are racing to develop a fast and painless way of measuring blood glucose levels.

The ultimate goal is 'TO CLOSE THE LOOP', namely that such a sensor would be tied to an implanted insulin pump that would be able to deliver the correct amount of insulin at the exact time it is needed, without involving the patient in the process, thus creating an artificial pancreas.

With this in mind, a few diabetologists have decided to establish a LOOP CLUB, which is aimed at getting together physicians from all over the world who are interested in being part of the process leading to the development of a reliable "artificial pancreas". By closing the Loop between blood glucose monitoring and insulin delivery, many dangerous complications of diabetes could eventually be reduced or eliminated in patients, saving lives and money.

For this purpose we have constructed this website which will be dedicated for such collaboration and sharing of ideas and experience among pediatric endocrinologists.

The First Meeting of the Loop Club was held on September 17, 2003 in Ljubljana, Slovenia. . For summary see: Past meetings.

Scientific advisory committee:
Moshe Phillip, MD - Institute for Endocrinology and Diabetes, National Center for Childhood Diabetes,
Schneider Children's Medical Center of Israel, Petah Tikva, Israel
Tadej Battelino, MD, PhD - Associate Professor of Pediatrics, University of Children's Hospital,
Dept of Pediatric and Adolescent Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, Ljubljana, Slovenia