Insulin Capsules To Stop Daily Injections For Type 1 Diabetics

A world in which Type 1 diabetics no longer need to inject themselves every day may be just a few years away.
This came after British scientists launched a project to create a system which will deliver insulin automatically. Currently, people with Type 1 diabetes must undergo prick tests several times a day to monitor their blood sugar, and inject themselves with insulin when it gets too high.
In the next five years, the daily injection may end as scientists at the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom, UK, are developing smart capsules which would travel through the body and release insulin when they came across high  levels of blood sugar.
According to a report, the Birmingham scientists said they were confident that the capsule would be ready for animal trials within five years, and humans soon after.
“This could be a step change in the management of Type 1 diabetes,” said Dr. John Fossey, senior lecturer in the School of Chemistry at the University of Birmingham, who is leading the project.
The research team has already discovered molecules which bind to glucose from which they plan to build a shell which can contain insulin, but melts away in the presence of sugar, releasing its payload.
Type 1 diabetes occurs when the pancreas (a small gland behind the stomach) doesn’t produce insulin – the hormone that regulates blood glucose levels.
If the amount of glucose in the blood is too high, it can, over time, damage the body’s organs. Just 10 per cent of all diabetes is type 1 but it’s the most common type of childhood diabetes.
Fossey said: “We want to make the lives of patients better. Imagine if patients could go through a week without having to worry about their blood sugar levels, or injecting themselves.
“I’ve talked to the parents of kids with Type 1 diabetes and they said, if only my children could do things, like go to sleepovers, their lives would be so much better. Most parents aren’t confident enough to entrust injections to other adults.
“We’re trying to create a system which will deliver insulin in response to glucose levels, releasing more if blood sugar is high.
“We can now recognise glucose in the body and my proposal is to take the same chemistry, take these molecules and build a container for insulin which will break open when it comes across glucose and deliver its cargo.
“The patient could be injected with these containers, say once a week and they would slowly degrade in the presence of glucose to keep blood sugar at a constant level.”
“It will give people the freedom to live their lives without constantly worrying about monitoring their condition.”