Diabetes Diagnosis with Dummies

Diagnosing rare genetic disorders early can make all the difference to newborns – and neonatal diabetes is no exception. However, invasive tests for glucose monitoring in neonates have obvious drawbacks and, because of the very rare nature of the disease, genetic tests are used for definitive diagnosis rather than for screening. Now, Alberto Escarpa of the University of Alcalá, Spain, along with colleagues at the University of California San Diego, USA, is pioneering a non-invasive approach: a pacifier – “dummy” in the UK – capable of monitoring glucose levels in saliva using a combination of microfluidics and electrochemical detection (1).