Injection alternative: Model predicts performance of glucose-responsive insulin

[Northerner]

People with Type 1 diabetes must check their blood glucose several times a day and inject themselves with insulin to keep their blood sugar levels within a healthy range. A better alternative, long sought by diabetes researchers, would be insulin that is engineered to linger in the bloodstream, becoming active only when needed, such as right after a meal.

One obstacle to developing this kind of "glucose-responsive insulin" is that it is difficult to know how these drugs will behave without testing them in animals. MIT researchers have now created a computer model that should streamline the development process: Their new model can predict how glucose-responsive insulin (GRI) will affect patients' blood sugar, based on chemical traits such as how quickly the GRI becomes activated in the presence of glucose.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/09/170926115930.htm

 

[trophywench]

There was research being done - years ago - at Loughborough Uni with this on a particular animal model. Trouble was refilling the implant was not possible and because their pancreases had been removed to make em totally dependant on the implants in the first place - all animals lives were sacrificed and so it was decided this model wasn't a really good idea - even though they had survived apparently happily and healthy for several years with it in - and I think lack of funding - so it was discontinued.