A person with type 1 diabetes must, in addition to monitoring their blood sugar and food intake, self-inject insulin several times a day. It may well be that a new oral treatment will replace the injections.
You will also be interested
[EN VIDÉO] Venom to treat diabetes, obesity and allergies In the south of Belgium, a research team is working on a somewhat specific subject. By using venom taken from wild animals, scientists hope to develop treatments against diabetes, allergies and obesity. The Euronews channel tells us more during this episode of Futuris.
the diabetes type 1 is an autoimmune disease. The lymphocytes T wrongly identify beta cells of pancreas like foreign cells. These cells are thus destroyed while they are responsible for the synthesis and secretion insulin. The function of insulin is to convert glucose in energy. At the diabetics type 1, since insulin is secreted in very small amounts, if at all, the level of glucose increases in the blood : it is the famous hyperglycemia. Today, the treatment of people with diabetes consists of supplementing the missing insulin with subcutaneous injections, several times a day. This treatment works well in most patients, but it is extremely restrictive. The patient should adapt their insulin injections to their food intake All day long.
A two-in-one concept
The results presented in a study recently published in Nature Biomedical Engineering could well change this tedious daily life! Indeed, the authors present insulin in pill form, to be taken orally, which would represent a huge gain in quality of life for patients. The whole point of oral insulin is to protect it so that it is not digested by gastric juices in L’stomach. In this study, insulin is transported to its target by protective nanoparticles, which will bind specifically to receptors in pancreatic cells. Even more interesting, in binder to the cells of the pancreas, the insulin vehicle prevents T lymphocytes from destroying them and restores the secretion of insulin by the pancreas! Thus the treatment has two functions: to supplement the production of insulin and to remove the cause of the lack of insulin. This concept is extremely promising for patients with type 1 diabetes but also for all people with autoimmune disease.
First results in animals
The treatment has been tested in mice and pigs with type 1 diabetes. Several objectives have been achieved:
- improve insulin levels;
- regulate the blood sugar ;
- restore the insulin-secreting function of the pancreas.
Work is still needed to find out if this new therapy can be administered to humans.
Oral insulin has also been observed to work seven times faster than insulin given subcutaneously.
However, work is still needed to find out whether this new therapy can be administered to humans. If the concept works, the treatment possibilities are dizzying: autoimmune diseases of course, but also some cancers, the allergies, and infections.
Interested in what you just read?
.
fs6