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For people with type 2 diabetes, is the time to be stung with a needle every time they need insulin gone?
Researchers who have developed a capsule capable of delivering insulin once it has reached the stomach are now a possibility well apart. Until now, the new device has only been tested on animals, and such findings are not always conclusive in humans, but scientists say the results look promising.
"If you are trying to deliver oral insulin, the acid and the enzymes [in the digestive system] break down the proteins, "explained Dr. Giovanni Traverso, lead author of the study, Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston and the Department of Mechanical Engineering at MIT in Cambridge, Mbadachusetts.
That's why insulin – a hormone that helps regulate blood sugar – must be given by injection. But Traverso said people with type 2 diabetes often were slow to start insulin treatment because of the discomfort and stigma of insulin injections.
"People would prefer the oral route to injections," he said.
In an attempt to meet this challenge, researchers have developed a capsule containing a small needle of compressed insulin. The capsule is about the size of a blueberry.
When the device reaches the stomach, the capsule reorients itself and injects insulin into the lining of the stomach.
Senior Author Alex Abramson, Ph.D. A student at the MIT Department of Chemical Engineering said, "The system had to be self-evident.The stomach is a big space and nothing guarantees where it will land . "
Promising study
The researchers borrowed the "technology" from the leopard tortoise found in Africa. The shell of the animal has a high and steep dome. This allows her to stand up if she rolls on her back.
The researchers also had to make sure that the capsule had the opportunity to straighten up before the injection. To do this, they loaded the insulin needle onto a compressed spring held in place by a sugar disc. The sugar disc takes 5.5 minutes to dissolve, according to Abramson.
Once it dissolves, the insulin needle is injected into the lining of the stomach. The researchers noted that there were no pain receptors in the stomach, so the injection should not hurt.
Once the capsule has released its contents, the remains pbad harmlessly into the digestive system.
Tests on pigs showed that the device was able to successfully deliver insulin in the same amounts that people with type 2 diabetes would typically take.
The researchers also examined the stomach tissue where insulin was injected and found no signs of injury or abnormality. They also found no change in the way pigs ate or in their stool habits.
Traverso said the researchers would continue experiments on animals and hoped to test the insulin capsule in humans in about three years. In addition to insulin, he said the capsule system could probably be used to administer medication for other diseases.
Endocrinologist Dr. Minisha Sood comes from Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City and was not part of the study. "This technology is something that I would never have imagined possible.Therefore, it has only been tested on animals, but it is a concept validation study that is promising, and I can not wait to see how this will unfold during human testing, "she says.
"The availability of oral insulin will dramatically improve the options available to people with diabetes – it will change their lives," said Sood. Currently, she added, people with diabetes who need insulin often have a 7 to 10 year delay before starting insulin therapy. Having to inject insulin is one of the main reasons for the delay, she said.
The capsule system was developed by a team of researchers from MIT, Brigham and Women's Hospital and insulin manufacturer Novo Nordisk.
The study was published on February 7 in the journal Science,
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