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Finally an Insulin Pill that Works

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September 12, 2016

Finally an Insulin Pill that Works

Imagine an insulin pill that could provide type 1 diabetics with a less painful way to control their blood sugar levels.

Well, a new technology known as a Cholestosome, neutral, lipid-based particle is capable of doing some very interesting things”.

Laboratory studies have been able to deliver multiple insulin molecules into cells, and research with rats have shown that certain formulations of Cholestosomes are very effective.

Problems with oral insulin delivery happen when the drug moves the stomach. Insulin often degrades before it moves into the intestine, leaving it ineffective when it eventually reaches the bloodstream. However, a Canadian team has focused on this problem. Cholestosome encapsulates insulin by employing a simple lipid esters, which are arranged into spheres. The spheres then create neutral particles that are resistant to attack from stomach acids.

When the Cholestosome packages arrive at the intestines, they are then recognised by the body as something that can be absorbed. Once they have passed through the intestines into the blood stream, the cells then open the packages, releasing insulin.

Laboratory studies have been able to deliver multiple insulin molecules into cells, and research with rats have shown that certain formulations of Cholestosomes are very effective.

The researchers now plan to improve their formulations in clinical trials involving animals. After that, their aim is to develop new partnerships to help fund human trials.

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Porky Pig and the Quest for a Cure of Type 1 Diabetes

When Porky Pig stutters at the end of a Looney Tunes episode with his famous goodbye, who would have thought the rotund pig's words might one day apply to diabetes. Well, with a plan to inject pig cells into diabetics - replacing the need for daily injections a thing of the past, Porky's that's all folks sounds like music to the ears of type 1 diabetics. Scientists hope that they may be able to safely treat humans with type 1 diabetes with 'stealth' pig cells. Pancreatic pig cells, unlike their human counterparts, offer an unlimited supply of insulin-producing tissue. The University of Alabama at Birmingham researchers are investigating strategies to transplant insulin-producing cell-clusters from pigs into humans to treat the disease. Currently, preclinical trials with pancreatic islets from pigs or mice coated with thin bilayers of biomimetic material are being tested in vivo with mice. Scientists hope that they may be able to safely treat humans with type 1 diabetes with 'stealth' pig cells One of the primary roles of pancreatic islets is the production of insulin to regulate levels of blood sugar. In Type 1 diabetes, the β-cells responsible for insulin production are destroyed by an autoimmune attack. To protect transplanted donor islets, in the past researchers have had limited success trying to coat islets with thick coatings that adhere to the islets. The new approach applies a gentler and much thinner coating of just five layers of material about 30 nanometres thick. These layers form a physical barrier that annihilates harmful chemicals and squashes the immune response while allowing nutrients and oxygen an easy passage to the cells. One of the layers, tannic acid, can scavenge destructive free radicals, much like the polyphenols found in green tea. Professor Eugenia Kharlampieva, co-author of the research, noted: "We did not expect the multi-layers would show such a large, potential benefit." Researchers have found that nano-coated mouse islets survived and functioned up to 40 days in diabetic mice whose immune systems were not working. “We showed that they do stay alive, and they function to regulate blood glucose.” Pig islets — unlike the scarce supply of human islets — offer an unlimited source of insulin-producing tissue. Yet another reason, besides bacon, to love pigs!