Insulin pill for the treatment of diabetes without injections?

Breakthrough in the treatment of diabetes?

Will people with diabetes be able to do without insulin injections in the future and simply take insulin orally instead? Experts have now developed a type of pill, which after ingestion is able to place itself on the tissue of the gastrointestinal tract and insert a tiny needle, which then supplies the required insulin.

Scientists at the internationally acclaimed Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) developed a type of tablet that uses a tiny needle to deliver insulin to the body. This could allow treatment of diabetes without the conventional insulin injections. The physicians published the results of their study in the English-language journal "Science".

If people have diabetes, they need to inject insulin every day. In the future, a type of pill could be taken, which then delivers the insulin to the body. (Image: Dmitry Lobanov / fotolia.com)

Oral intake is preferred by patients and health care providers

For people with diabetes, insulin is a life-saving medicine that regulates blood sugar. Insulin administration typically requires multiple needle pricks throughout the day as diabetics need to monitor their blood sugar. These stitches can be painful or uncomfortable, which is why the MIT scientists have developed the new type of pill. Oral drug use is favored by both patients and health care providers, said study author Giovanni Traverso of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Further research is needed

Although the novel pills technology has so far only been tested on rats and pigs, the test results showed that the animals had no complications or side effects, such as blockages in the administration of the drug or unwanted perforations in the stomach tissue. However, the device is still in its early stages of development and further testing is required. The physicians assume that the first human studies will take place within the next three to five years.

Ways of treating diabetes without injections

While the device may be among the first to administer insulin orally, there are other innovations in insulin delivery that are also free of injections, including the inhalable insulin Afrezza and the insulin pumps, which adhere to the skin and release insulin. According to the American Diabetes Association, these pumps deliver insulin more accurately than injections. It has long been difficult to develop an oral route for insulin, as the hormone is broken down in the digestive process. The new pill from MIT might change that in the future. It is to be hoped that anything currently given via an injection can be administered with this pill, the research team concluded in a MIT press release on recent study results. (As)