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NEWS: [11-11-2009] - Scientists set to unveil injection-free insulin treatment

Submitted by Dreamcatcher on Fri, 25/12/2009 - 5:08pm.

Millions of diabetes sufferers could be set to benefit after American scientists revealed that they have developed a bubblegum capable of delivering insulin directly into the bloodstream.

At present, many people living with the condition are forced to rely on daily injections as specialists have failed to establish a means in which orally-taken insulin can survive the journey through the body's digestive system.

However, a team from the University of California has announced that it is in the final stages of developing a special gum capable of ensuring that insulin is absorbed straight into the bloodstream.

Specifically, Professor Tejal Desai's team are designing microscopic capsules aimed at protecting medication from the stomach's acid and enzymes and slowly releasing the drugs into the walls of the gut.

In addition, Professor Desai is set to explain at the upcoming annual meeting of the American Institute of Physics that the delivery technique could also be used to give patients hormones and anti-inflammatory drugs in the near future.

Just last month, Diabetes UK warned that as many as seven million people in the UK are showing early signs of the condition and are therefore 15 times more likely to go on and develop full type 2 diabetes.