Insulin pills could replace daily injections for type I diabetics, according to a study

As many as 40 million people around the world suffer from type 1 diabetes, and many of them have to get stuck twice a day with a needle to make sure that their blood sugar level is in the blood. failure.

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However, researchers at Harvard 's John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences have now developed an oral delivery method that could replace painful injections of any kind. insulin responsible for maintaining adequate glucose levels.

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The research was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on Monday.

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While insulin therapy by injection is effective, "many people do not adhere to this diet because of the pain, phobia of the needles and interference with normal activities," said L & # 39; Lead author Samir Mitragotri in a press release. "The consequences of the resulting poor glycemic control can lead to serious health complications."

This new oral administration exhibits insulin-ionic fluid formation encapsulated in an acid-resistant enteric coating. Because insulin does not behave well in the acidic environment of the stomach, this enteric coating is essential to prevent degradation by stomach acids in the intestine.

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Researchers have already tried to rearrange the insulin molecule to resist acid degradation and overcome other gastrointestinal hurdles, but there is no product of administration. Oral insulin currently available in clinical or hospital settings.

"It's the holy grail of drug delivery to develop ways to give protein and peptide drugs like insulin by mouth rather than by injection," said Mark Prausnitz, a professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

"The implications of this work for medicine could be enormous, if the results can be translated into pills that safely and effectively administer insulin and other peptide drugs to humans," he said. said Prausnitz.

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The researchers plan to continue animal testing and are optimistic about clinical trials in humans.

About 1.25 million children and adults in the US have type 1 diabetes, according to the American Diabetes Association.

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In type 1 diabetes, pancreatic insulin-producing beta cells are "mistakenly attacked and destroyed by the immune system," according to Medical News Today.

And in type 2, the most common category of diabetes accounting for 90-95 percent of all cases, the body's cells stop responding to insulin or the beta cells can not produce enough of them. ;hormone.

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People suffering from one or the other type of the disease have blood sugar levels that can become too high. This condition is called hyperglycemia and can lead to kidney disease, heart disease and more if it is not properly controlled or treated.

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