There are more than 9 million people in the world who have the disease diabetes type 1. The vast majority use syringes to ensure that the body receives insulin after each meal. Dr. Anubhav Pratap-Singh is one of the researchers working dedicatedly to find a solution in tablet form. He has done that for many years. He says the inspiration for the work is his own father, who has been injecting insulin 3-4 times a day for the past 15 years. And now, for the first time, the researchers see that rats take up insulin via tablets in the same way as with injections. – This shows that we are on the right track. It will improve both the quality of life and the mental health of many millions of people, says Pratap-Singh. The new study has been published in the renowned journal Nature. – Would have been much better Diabetes type 1 is a demanding disease. You do most of the treatment on your own. – It is a job that is done around the clock, 365 days a year. Anything that can help make this easier means a lot to those living with the disease. This is what Silje Herbro Landsverk tells news. She is communications manager at the Diabetes Association. Landsverk believes that tablets have done the trick – as it means that people don’t have to inject themselves many times a day. – Many people with diabetes, especially children, find it uncomfortable and frightening to inject themselves with an insulin injection. For them, a tablet would be a much better option. Some also think it can be uncomfortable with the attention that often comes with using a syringe. An injection of insulin is often placed in the stomach. Sometimes also in the thigh. Photo: Snare, Knut / Aftenposten Right in the liver According to the new study, the rats absorb close to 100 percent of the insulin from the tablets. And the substance goes straight into the liver of the experimental animals. This has not been possible before, as it has been seen that the insulin has accumulated in the stomach region. – Even after two hours, there were no signs of insulin in the stomachs of the rats we tested. Everything was inside the liver. And that is the ideal target for insulin, says Yigong Guo. He is one of the authors behind the study. Diabetes type 1 is a life-threatening condition without the necessary medicine. It is also called insulin-dependent diabetes, because those with the diagnosis are dependent on insulin in order not to die. The condition comes from the body destroying the insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas. No one knows why this happens. The patients are dependent on constant monitoring of the insulin level in the body, something that happens with injections or an insulin pump. Around 25,000 people in Norway have diabetes type 1. Found an equally quick method Having to insert a syringe several times a day is neither comfortable nor practical. But it has so far been the most precise way to ensure that the body’s insulin needs are met. The time it takes from a possible tablet ending up in the mouth until the medicine is absorbed is therefore critical. Previous trials with tablets have shown that it takes too long. Now the group of researchers has created a type. This tablet should not be swallowed, but instead dissolved inside the mouth. According to the study, the content from this should be as fast-acting as in an injection. The insulin is released within 30–120 minutes. Here, one of the researchers in the lab demonstrates the development of the insulin tablet. Photo: Karen Lee/University of British Columbia A hope for the future? Trond Geir Jenssen is a senior physician at Oslo University Hospital and an employee of the Diabetes Association. He says people have been trying to find alternative methods for a long time. – Attempts have been made to inhale insulin through a lung spray, tablets that are dissolved by the mucous membranes in the mouth, as well as a preparation that is smeared on the skin. Part of this is still being researched, but currently has no place in normal treatment. The doctor believes that the advantage of injections is that they can be dosed in a precise way, and that the effect profile in the body can be fairly accurately predicted. Trond Geir Jenssen has, among other things, received a research award for his work with kidney disease, transplants and diabetes. Photo: Diabetes Association But perhaps Dr. Pratap-Singh and his colleagues have now cracked a code that still gives hope for the future. Although the work will require both more money and time before the tablet can be tested on humans. Silje Landsverk in the Diabetes Association says a tablet would also be practically easier. – It is far easier to put a box of tablets in your bag when you are going to travel, than to remember insulin, pens, sterilization equipment and so on. A tablet is also not dependent on and stored at the right temperature, like liquid insulin.
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Rats take up insulin via tablets in the same way as when the substance is injected – news Trøndelag
