Experiencing pain while injecting yourself with insulin? Tired of erratic blood pressure? Have your doctor advised you to keep your sugar levels in check with a daily dose of insulin injection? Suffering from diabetes is very painful both physically and mentally. Diabetes when uncontrolled can be life-threatening as the immunity dips and comes with many complications. Diabetes is a present-day lifestyle disease that can’t be eradicated. But as we speak, there has been a breakthrough by scientists in the US. There has been an edible capsule developed which is far more effective than the normal injectable insulin.
The study published by Nature Medicine says that “the capsule containing proteins that cannot be taken orally reaches the small intestine before breaking down to release dissolvable tiny needles”. Scientists in the United States have designed an oral drug that can withstand the harsh environment in the digestive tracts. “The needles can attach to the intestinal wall and release drugs for fast uptake into the bloodstream”, according to the study. In tests in pigs, researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) showed the same amount of insulin can be taken as compared to the insulin injection.
The process works in a tad bit complicated way rather. Recently this year, the scientists developed a blueberry-sized capsule containing a small needle that is made of compressed insulin. When the capsule reaches the stomach, the needle injects the drug into the stomach lining. In the new study, the researchers developed a capsule that has the capability to inject the insulin in the walls of the small intestine.
“They coated the 30-millimeter-long capsule with a polymer that can survive the acidic environment of the stomach. The capsule breaks open in the small intestine as the pH is higher, and then springs three folded arms containing patches of one-millimeter-long needles that can carry insulin”, according to the study. When the arms unfold open, the force of their release allows the needles to just penetrate the topmost layer of the small intestine tissue. After insertion, the needles dissolve and release the drug.
Also, the arms would break apart after the needle patches are applied to reduce the risk of blockage in the intestine.
“We can deliver insulin, but we see applications for many other therapeutics and possibly vaccines,” said Giovanni Traverso at MIT. There has been a lot more traction recently with these developments in diabetes. This lifestyle disease didn’t have any active researches, with the pace picked up, the world can one day hope to eradicate this disease totally. With that being said, it’s good news for diabetic patients. No updates on its commercial availability.
