Diabetes Patients Could Soon Take Insulin Pills
Researchers are claiming that the day is not far off when patients with diabetes will be able to discard repeated injections in favour of a pill. Pharmacists at the Aberdeen-based Robert Gordon University have discovered that insulin is capable of accepting a coating - rendering it suitable for eventual oral use. Presently, people with diabetes have to inject it directly into the bloodstream, to ensure it remains intact. This new possibility offers a glint of light on the horizon to the percentage of diabetes patients scared of needles, or unhappy self-medicating in this way.
The research was unveiled at the British Pharmaceutical Conference, which began yesterday and finishes on the 12th September. It highlights how insulin, when coated, is safeguarded against the chance of enzyme deconstruction.
Speaking at the conference, the university's Dr Colin Thompson, who works for the School of Pharmacy there, detailed the potential of the discovery further:
"We have been working on developing an oral insulin because studies show that a great many people with diabetes fear injections. Being able to take insulin orally would have a significant impact on the lives of many of these patients - not just eliminating the need for injections, but also offering a much more convenient form of treatment."
Diabetes takes two forms - Type 1 and Type 2. Those with Type 1 are reliant on insulin in order to live normally. Type 2 patients, on the other hand, can generally get by through monitoring their diet, or through specialised, orally-taken diabetic drugs. The insulin requirement only enters the fray when the diabetes becomes more profound.
Elsewhere, more research has recently been undertaken, in which scientists have been exploring ways by which insulin can be orally taken, but without it breaking down before it can get to work. In Taiwan, for example, a chemical naturally found in the shells of shrimps is being employed to this end, in studies there.
Insulin can be inhaled, where the subject is genuinely scared of needles, and this can be medically verified.
Source - Pharmaceutical International's Research and Development Analyst
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