Oral Insulin...a cautious optimism

[arlenecarol]

BBC NEWS
'Insulin pill' hope for diabetes
Diabetes patients may soon be able to take a pill to control their condition instead of repeated injections.

UK company Diabetology, with experts at Cardiff University, says it has solved a crucial problem with oral insulin.

The capsule's special coating protects the drug from acids in the stomach, allowing it to pass into the small intestine where it is absorbed.

The researchers will present their early trial results in 16 patients to the American Diabetes Association.

Needle free

The details of Dr Steve Luzio's presentation cannot be released until he has made it, but are expected to show that oral doses achieve the necessary changes in the body's blood sugar handling to treat diabetes.

The trial is expected to show that the oral dose, taken twice daily before breakfast and dinner, controls glucose levels successfully, at least in patients with type 2 diabetes.

There are currently 700,000 people in the UK who take insulin injections, sometimes up to four times a day, so being able to take their insulin orally would have a great impact on their quality of life
Dr Iain Frame of Diabetes UK

Other scientists have also been looking at ways to deliver insulin by mouth without it being degraded in the stomach. Taiwanese investigators are using a chemical found in shrimp shells to protect the drug.

And inhaled insulin is already available to those diabetics with a proven needle phobia or people who have severe trouble injecting.

Cautious welcome

Diabetes UK welcomed the new research but said the findings were very early and should be treated with caution.

Dr Iain Frame, research manager at Diabetes UK, said: "There are currently 700,000 people in the UK who take insulin injections, sometimes up to four times a day, so being able to take their insulin orally would have a great impact on their quality of life.

"This research, however, is still in its early stages. We would like to see further results."

People with type 1 diabetes rely on insulin.

Often, type 2 diabetes can be controlled by diet alone or other oral diabetes drugs. It is only as the disease progresses that insulin may be needed.

Type 2 diabetes is far more common than type 1.

Story from BBC NEWS:
BBC NEWS | Health | 'Insulin pill' hope for diabetes (http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/health/6229398.stm)

Published: 2007/06/22 09:46:40 GMT

© BBC MMVII

[Jill-O]

Now that I have started on insulin, when I see these reports of oral pills, I have to figure they are aimed at those who've never yet taken an insulin shot.

I'm fairly new to it, but the first time I took a shot, I had to look down and see if I actually got it in. I did NOT feel it. It's no big deal AT ALL and it gets in your system much faster than an oral pill can. For that reason, I don't think I'd ever choose an insulin pill over a shot.

Just posting this in the hopes it may ease any fears some of you who have insulin in your future may feel. I was nervous as can be before I started, only to find it works so much better for me than the other medications, and the finger tests hurt, honestly, 100x more than an insulin shot.

Jill

[JediSkipdogg]

Jill, I totally agree. Now, I know nothing but shots and needles (since diagnosed at 11 months old) but it's not that bad. Yes, once in a while I hit a bad spot, but overall it's easier done than said.

My question though is how do you dose? This goes along the same lines as the inhaled insulin (at least in it's current options.) There is no chances of precise dosing. If each pill is 2 units of insulin from a shot, and you need 10 units for that meal, do you pop 5 pills? Fistly, 2 units isn't very controlled, and secondly, I hate popping pills and I think seeing people pour pills out on the table would look more odd than just pulling a shot out.

[owlyn]

I agree 100% with Jill-O. Those who developed inhalable insulin, and now the oral, have obviously never taken a shot. It's really just not an issue.

Now, if they want to come up with a 1 unit rapid acting pill that needs no refrigeration and would last for a year, they'd have something. Why? The biggest inconvenience to insulin is watching out for exposing it to heat, and once it's opened, its short shelf life. If each pill is 1 unit, I know how many pills to take for my carbs. Come up with that, and I'll be first in line at the pharmacy. Hey, I never even mentioned no more needles- why? Needles are not the problem.

But- I'll wait for the mythical "cure" :) instead.

[slipperyelm]

Yes, I see other problems, too, Timing the insulin to the food could be unreliable as digestion speed can be changeable.

I am convinced by all the people here who say that injecting insulin DOES NOT HURT, normally. Why can't this be emphasized even in early Type 2 education so that people will not be unnecessarily afraid if and when injections become advantageous? I really don't think word is out there.

[JediSkipdogg]

I think some of the myth with it being painful comes from past experience. When I get my flu shot every year that hurts. Not only does it hurt after the fact (the flu liquidy stuff) the actual insertion of the needle hurts. I think that's due to the fact of the guage of the needle. So in that sense, that myth hurts shot giving.

[grace girl]

Seems to me that it would be more complicated than the shots...injectables are more predictable...anything ingested also has the whole issue of individual digestion rates.....
Surely they can do better than this!