Jan. 23, 2007 — Todd Fischer was 18 years old when he found out he had type 1
diabetes. That same day, he began injecting himself with insulin
before and after every meal.
"All of a sudden I went from normal teenager to human pincushion,
literally overnight," said Fischer, who is now 31 years old.
But thanks to new research, Fischer and other diabetics could soon be relieved of some of the hassles associated with treatment. Researchers
have developed a method for loading nano-sized particles with insulin
that could one day lead to insulin pills — and with them, the end of needle-based delivery.
For now, Fischer is attached to a beeper-sized insulin pump that
delivers a regular, low dose of medicine through an external catheter.
But that hasn't made life easier.
"You have to change all the tubing attached to your body every three
days [and]...in order to insert the catheter, you use a needle about
two-inches long. That's not fun," said Fischer.
Managing the treatment — carrying
needles, a cooler for insulin, a blood glucose tester, test
strips, extra sugar — can be overwhelming. "The pain becomes
the last thing on your mind," he said.
The "oral route is considered to be the most convenient and comfortable
means for the administration of insulin," said
Hsing-Wen Sung, a professor at the National Tsing Hua University in
Hsinchu, Taiwan.
If successful, such a method could also make it possible for patients
to take other protein-based drugs orally — for example, calcium
regulators for osteoporosis and certain protein-based antibiotics.
Researchers have been trying to produce insulin
pills for decades. But so far, production methods require high temperatures and
organic solvents that can destroy the protein.
Sung and his team found a way to make tiny insulin-filled particles
in a room-temperature solution made mostly of water.
