Oral Insulin

[Recusant]

This really looks promising. Will probably be expensive at first, once it's approved.

"Nanotech opens door to future of insulin medication" | Phys.org

An international team, led by researchers from Australia, have developed a system using nanotechnology that could allow people with diabetes to take oral insulin in the future. The researchers say the new insulin could be eaten by taking a tablet or even embedded within a piece of chocolate.

The new nano carrier, tested in mice, rats and baboon animal models, could help people with diabetes avoid side-effects linked to insulin injections such as hypoglycemia (a low blood sugar event, when too much insulin has been injected).

These animal studies have shown that the greatest strength of the nano-scale material is that it can react to the body's blood sugar levels. The coating dissolves and releases the insulin when there is a high concentration of blood sugar and importantly does not release the insulin in low blood sugar environments.

The new oral insulin uses a type of nano-scale material that is 1/10,000th the width of a human hair. The material acts similarly to acid resistant coating on tablets, which protects it from being destroyed by stomach acid. But this new coating instead surrounds individual insulin molecules and becomes a "nano carrier"—acting like a courier to ferry insulin molecules in the body to the places it needs to act.

[Continues . . .]

The paper is open access--

"Oral nanotherapeutic formulation of insulin with reduced episodes of hypoglycaemia" | Nature Nanotechnology

Abstract:

Injectable insulin is an extensively used medication with potential life-threatening hypoglycaemic events. Here we report on insulin-conjugated silver sulfide quantum dots coated with a chitosan/glucose polymer to produce a responsive oral insulin nanoformulation.

This formulation is pH responsive, is insoluble in acidic environments and shows increased absorption in human duodenum explants and Caenorhabditis elegans at neutral pH. The formulation is sensitive to glucosidase enzymes to trigger insulin release.

It is found that the formulation distributes to the liver in mice and rats after oral administration and promotes a dose-dependent reduction in blood glucose without promoting hypoglycaemia or weight gain in diabetic rodents. Non-diabetic baboons also show a dose-dependent reduction in blood glucose. No biochemical or haematological toxicity or adverse events were observed in mice, rats and non-human primates. The formulation demonstrates the potential to orally control blood glucose without hypoglycaemic episodes.

[Icarus]

Welcome news for insulin dependent people.

[Tank]

Very interesting.

Being insulin dependent type 2 is a real pain. I have now got a 24/7 sensor in my arm and it has been an absolute game changer over the last 3 months. Because the sensor is embedded under the skin with it's control-unit/transmitter stuck on the outside I don't have to do an individual pin prick on my finger anymore. That is a vast improvement. The system sends around 90 readings a day to my phone. There is no way I could do that with my old blood prick system my fingers would be a bloody mess!

This is the daily view.

[Icarus]

Three cheers for medical science.

[Tank]

Hear hear! No question I would have died of sepsis if it hadn't been for antibiotics.