Swallow insulin instead of inject it?

[Northerner]

For protein-based drugs such as insulin to be taken orally rather than injected, bioengineers need to find a way to shuttle them safely through the stomach to the small intestine where they can be absorbed and distributed by the bloodstream.

Progress has been slow, but in a new study, researchers report an important technological advance. They show that the ?bioadhesive? coating significantly increased the intestinal uptake of polymer nanoparticles in rats and that the nanoparticles were delivered to tissues around the body in a way that could potentially be controlled.

http://www.futurity.org/top-stories/swallow-insulin-instead-of-inject-it/

 

[LeeLee]

Don't you just love that word 'potentially'?

 

[pottersusan]

Well I didn't know that's why we inject (but there's still a lot I don't know about diabetes). But it obviously hasn't occurred to any of my collection of doctors that since I haven't got a stomach I could have been taking insulin orally. But on the other hand I'm not giving my pump back!

 

[HOBIE]

Hope they get there ! 🙂🙂

 

[trophywench]

Yeah but No but

How could it deliver itself to match MDI? You'd have to know what carbs you were having for lunch hours and hours before you had your lunch, and take your breakfast insulin about 4am. Etc.

If it only worked for long acting, how could it release itself in the number of different hourly rates each different person uses?

But yes - it sounds alright, LOL

 

[Redkite]

This is the sort of thing that sounds amazing to people who aren't on insulin, who think the most terrible thing about (T1) diabetes is having to have injections. Injections are the easy part!!!!