(LEAD) 'TempUp' clothes used in clinical trial for diabetes

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SEOUL, Jan. 17 (Yonhap) -- A South Korean fabric manufacturer has launched a clinical trial of its heat-generating clothes to help diabetic patients keep their blood sugar levels under control, company officials and doctors said Tuesday.

ReTend Co., the fabric maker, developed its own heat-generating clothes with a high-tech fabric named "TempUp" and let two diabetic patients wear the clothes for about three months.

The results showed that their amounts of glycated hemoglobin dropped by an average 1.2 point, according to Cecil Internal Medicine, a Seoul-based hospital which conducted the test.

For people who don't have diabetes, their amount of glycated hemoglobin stands at between 4 and 6 percent. People who have diabetes are advised to keep their amount of glycated hemoglobin below 6.5 percent.

Hong Kwan-soo, director of Cecil Internal Medicine who conducted the test, said he was confident that the TempUp clothes would help diabetic patients better control their blood sugar levels, although the test was conducted for only two patients.

"The patients say that their overall conditions get better when their bodies get warm," Hong said.

Lee Kyu-sang, chief executive of ReTend, said the company will carry out more clinical trials.

Lee said the "TempUp" fabric has proved to help patients better treat their diabetes, endocrine and cardiovascular diseases throughout its own tests over the past two years.

"We will prove the efficacy (of the fabric) throughout clinical trials," Lee said.

Korea University Anam Hospital is conducting a clinical trial using the TempUp clothes for people who suffer from backaches, while Dankook University Hospital is planning a similar clinical test for diabetic patients.

Lee Sang-heon, vice director of the hospital, said it is difficult to comment about the efficacy because the clinical trial is not finished.
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