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EFE

Diabetics rely on insulin to be injected daily, but a new method based on pills that has not yet been tested in people could change the way whose patients maintain blood sugar levels, according to a study published by PNAS. Oral administration of insulin can not only improve the quality of life of over 40 million people with type 1 diabetes worldwide, but it could alleviate many of the side effects of the disease, according to the # 39; university team. from Harvard who developed the method.

Injection insulin therapy generally keeps glucose levels in the right order, but many people are not treated well either because of needle phobia or because that disrupts their usual activities, according to the director of the study. , Samir Mitragotri.
Until now, it has been difficult to find a method for administering oral insulin because the protein does not grow well when it is in an acidic environment of the body. Stomach and that it is poorly absorbed outside the intestines.

The new approach developed by the team involves transporting insulin in an ionic liquid composed of choline (an essential nutrient badimilable to a protein) and geranic acid (used as a food additive) enclosed in a capsule with a resistant enteric coating. to acids. It is, according to a statement from the university, a "biocompatible elebaoración, easy to produce and can be stored up to two months at room temperature without degrading".

Mitragotri explained that once ingested, "the insulin must navigate a difficult course before it can be effectively absorbed into the bloodstream."

The ingestion of oral insulin, indicates the note, would more accurately reproduce how a healthy pancreas produces it and administers it to the liver.

The team now wants to do more testing on compound formulation, as well as long-term toxicological and bioavailability studies.

In the event that everything goes well, scientists hope that the approval of prospective clinical trials with people will be easier since choline and geranic acid are already considered safe.