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Injectable Nanoparticles Maintain Normal Blood-sugar Levels For Up To 10 Days
cylonlover writes "Aside from the inconvenience of injecting insulin multiple times a day, type 1 diabetics also face health risks if the dosage level isn't accurate. A new approach developed by U.S. researchers has the potential to overcome both of these problems. The method relies on a network of nanoscale particles that, once injected into the body, can maintain normal blood sugar levels for more than a week by releasing insulin when blood-sugar levels rise."
and if the GOP gets there way any one on this will be put on the preexisting condition black list.
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I have just poured hot grits down my pants.
Thank you!
Preemptively posting, because you know there's gonna be some idiot talking about fat people, and who doesn't understand the difference between type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
That is some sweet science
This is a neat idea, but not yet remotely ready to try in people. There were quite significant local infammatory reactions (big lumps!) in some of the mice tested.
There's probably ten years of work, and well north of $150 million dollars before the first human tests.
Good luck!
-- Anthony Staines
It doesn't only solve the two mentioned problems, it would completely change the life style!
- eat whenever you want to
- stop eating when you feel you had enough, instead of eating "enough" for the insulin you took
- no need to wake up in the night to check sugar level
- exercise whenever you want to w/o worrying that your sugar level is high enough for the effort
And that for responsible adults. Now think about diabetic kids and their parents - how much easier and comfortable their life could be... I'm not even mentioning the first period when you get diabetes - it takes months to learn balancing insulin doses, timing of injections, type and amount of food and physical exercises.
Pregnant diabetic women could be much less worried too.
This medicine can be a complete game changer. No less.
Type 1 cannot survive without insulin. However, a lot of type 2s also inject insulin. If you get the dosage right, injecting insulin is a much better alternative to oral Sulphonylureas for Type 2s. The main reason Sulphonylureas are preferred is because people don't like injecting stuff.
Kick-ass concept (I have two close relatives who are Type 1 and on insulin pumps). But this seems to be only half the solution. You still have to monitor your levels to be absolutely sure and currently this is still an invasive albeit simple process. When a non-invasive measurement method that fits in a wristwatch arrives, then it will be a lot better form of treatment. You'll probably still have to keep insulin pens around for emergencies though.
This appears to be a 'new and improved' way to dispense insulin 1) adaptively and 2) with a single dose that lasts an entire week. Type 1 diabetics will benefit most since they must take insulin already. They're likely to find this a god send.
But this technology will also appeal to Type 2s who now may be a lot more likely to take insulin rather than an insulin secretagogues drug like sulfonylureas (e.g. glipizide, glibenclamide). A significant benefit of taking insulin rather than an insulin stimulant is 1) glucose control will be much improved and 2) this will place much less strain on the pancreas thereby perhaps reducing the 'progressive' nature of diabetes, where the pancreas wears out prematurely due to increased demands placed on it.
Of course, they have yet to make it work in pimates and humans. No small hurdle.
I know plenty of people with Type 1 diabetes so stop reading now if that's you :-P Otherwise, I heard of another great treatment that's super-effective. It's not injectable but it's a lot cheaper. It's called get off your ass, lose some damn weight, and stop eating high-sugar and high-calorie crap all the time. It's proven to be even more effective than injectable non-particles.
All hail our evil robotic overlords?
Doesn't that increase the risk of an embolism?
This is an example of how medical research dollars are used to create expensive treatments to this problem. The hospitals would go broke if diabetics regulated their blood sugar not with expensive medicine, but by restricting how much carbs they eat.
Why should they regulate the amount of carbs? Well consumption of an excessive amount of carbs (low and high glycemic) naturally get converted into sugar for our body to use as fuel. The problem is that when we consume too much (> 100g per day), it causes our blood sugar to rise too much, and if our body doesn't respond to it fast enough, we can easily die (hence Type 1 and 2 diabetics needing to closely monitor their blood sugar).
Our bodies can use Carbs, Fats, or Proteins as its main fuel source. If you switch from using carbs, to using Fats (such as the ketogenic diet), suddenly your blood sugar isn't changing very much, and you usually can reduce your insulin usage over time. It helped me a whole lot, so perhaps it can help you too...
Another example of publicly funded research hidden behind a profit motivated paywall. Too bad the public can't RTFA.
Hashtag "Replicators". I'm concerned that there aren't enough researchers who watch dystopian sci-fi, and that any paper like this should address the "holy shit, how could this go terribly wrong" part just to remind people...
Don't even know why I'm bothering to respond, but how do you propose type 1 diabetics use your methodology? Or are you just an ignorant twat who can't even be bothered to understand what type 1 diabetes is?
That being said, my $0.02 is that type 2 diabetics should only be allowed to get this kind of treatment after they've demonstrated that changing their lifestyle choices isn't sufficient (unless they're wealthy enough to pay out of pocket). Type 1 diabetics are a completely different story, and if you don't know why, lurk moar before making yourself sound like a jackass.
-Vel
If you're a diabetic I'm pretty sure you're not interested in how long your drug could work...
Bear in mind that it's the degradation of normally smooth artery walls by, e.g., high blood pressure that enables plaque build up. What happens if they impact a plaque deposit?
I ask because the treatments might start to get expensive if it's not quantified before people start using the treatment and J. Edgar Pure-Butter-Diet takes them to court over their "contribution" to the arterial furring that put his head in a jar.
-- A change is as good as a reboot.
If the costs are low and side effects minimal. How stablely can it regulate blood sugar? The modern practioce of three meals a day just isn't very optimal for good mood regulation and high productivity and creativity. Of course, we should probably all be taking naps, too :)
Those people who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do. (Isaac Asimov)
Don't even know why I'm bothering to respond, but how do you propose type 1 diabetics use your methodology? Or are you just an ignorant twat who can't even be bothered to understand what type 1 diabetes is?
Hear, hear! I also feel vindicated that my 9:48AM post, while clumsily phrased so that it was misconstrued by some, was nevertheless accurate in predicting that somebody would make the sort of ignorant remarks that the OP did. Of course that prediction is like predicting that the sun will rise in the East, but I was still right.
If you switch from using carbs, to using Fats (such as the ketogenic diet), suddenly your blood sugar isn't changing very much
What could possibly go wrong?
And thus someone doesn't understand Type 1.
I'm starting to think GNU is the problem with "GNU/Linux" these days.
Borg nanoprobes.
Or your money back?
A load of geeks who think that, because they understand iptables, their opinion on something health related is somehow interesting or relevant.
Type 1 diabetes (also called IDDM - the ID stands for Insulin-Dependent, for the benefit of those unfamiliar) can be less of a problem on an extremely low-carb diet - that is, if you needed to survive as long as possible without insulin, if you could drink a ton of water and eat nothing with carbs in it and you might survive for 1-2 months - but in the end your body does need glucose, does produce it from food, and if it can't absorb it (because it doesn't have insulin) you will die.
There's no place I could be, since I've found Serenity...
I have type 1 diabetes, and when I was paying for humalog out of pocket it was amazing how motivating it was for me to have to think about how many dollars worth of insulin a meal would cost. 100 calories worth of carbs requires far more insulin than 100 calories worth of protein or fat. Of course I probably cut more carbs out than I should have, but I have to admit, I splurged a lot less than I do now that I can just take a little extra insulin and don't have to worry about the cost. Also, taking less humalog and eating fewer carbs means less up and down movement with my blood sugar. It is not clear from the OP whether we was claiming type 1s could eliminate insulin use completely, which is of course absurd, but one can definitely reduce it if there is a reason.
I interpreted him to be claiming that carb reduction/elimination would be a "cure" for Type 1. I too suffer from T1, and keep my meals to ~45-60g carbohydrates (doctor's orders originally). Just because you can eat more and take more insulin doesn't mean it's the best idea. And advocating just a primarily protein or fat diet ignores the risks that go with them. The body needs balance, which the OP seemed to ignore.
I'm starting to think GNU is the problem with "GNU/Linux" these days.
I was wondering when Universal Care would kick in and what its requirements were.
I am gonna reply AC so I can still come back and bump you up one if I get any mod points.
Why group them into a network? Doesn't that increase the risk of an embolism?
From the supplementary materials PDF, it looks like these particles are about 300nm in diameter. That's a fraction of the diameter of a single red blood cell, individual particles wouldn't be big enough to block even our smallest capillaries. However, 300nm is about the size of a large virus; I don't know how immunogenic these things are, but even if moderately inert they'd likely be targeted by our normal debris-removal functions, as the immune system really does not like virus-sized foreign particles.
As a type 1 for the last 18 years I can safely tell you all what the health law will mean. Everyone else is now going to be responsible for my well being no matter whether i smoke drink or jump off a building....
Yea...kinda stupid, wouldn't you agree? This health law is actually more expensive for me than paying for my medicine and supplies and doctor visits out of pocket with no insurance. --Did he say he had no insurance?! What a creep!
I hate this "sanctimonious" the government is here for my good crap. ObamaCare...as its so affectionately called will ruin healthcare in the US. In self employed and take care if my body and disease. Managing my life responsibly does wonders for society.
Perhaps we should push everyone to a sense of self reliance and responsibility rather than dependence.
*Since the article was actually about a new break through....lets move that way.
Im curios about these nano particles and their composition and long term effects on the human body. Genetic therapy seems like a safer option rather than artificial means.
So very true!
Cheers on that note Vel
- type 1 diabetic
If you switch from using carbs, to using Fats (such as the ketogenic diet), suddenly your blood sugar isn't changing very much, and you usually can reduce your insulin usage over time.
But, at least if you're a type 1, not reduce it to zero, I suspect.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insulin_degludec looks promising
Casteism
I worded my statement to indicate a reduction of Insulin medication, not an elimination, although my opening sentence does imply an elimination of costly medication, which isn't what I meant.
It's good to hear that you are moderating your consumption of carbohydrates, I imagine it is helping you. I believe a low carb, low fat, high protein diet would be a dangerous diet to peruse, but I would need to do more research into that combination. I have found that a low carb, high fat, moderate protein diet works wonders for regulating my blood sugar, reducing my weight, and generally making me feel more healthy. The only risks of a high fat diet are that you need to ensure that you are consuming enough electrolytes (potassium in particular), since with a high fat diet, you tend to lose your water weight, hence your not able to store electrolytes as easily.
Another concern about a high fat diet is cholesterol. From the research I've done, it seems that there are two types of LDL's, and it is the small type of LDL that is more dangerous for us, and a high carb diet generally has a higher number of small LDL's that a high fat diet. Dietary cholesterol has little impact on the cholesterol in our blood, since it requires less energy for our body to generate the cholesterol it needs, than to metabolize it from the food that we eat.
Everyone needs to do their own research to ensure that what they think is healthy, actually is. I don't claim to provide the evidence to change anyone's beliefs, I'm just remarking on the results of the research I have done, and its effect on my body.
FWI:A high protein diet, especially when not balanced with an extreme amount of exercise, greatly increases the risk of renal disease later in life, which is already greatly increased by being diabetic.
I'm glad that you replied to clarify what you meant though. And yes, cholesterol is a concern, depending on the types you are consuming, and once again, activity level is a key component of the equation. My body seems to not discriminate what it's burning ( 10% body fat, normal protein levels) so I have to balance my diet carefully, or I suffer hypoglycemic reactions when doing activities (lawn mowing, lifting, driving to work, etc). And for me, nothing is quite as scary as the low blood sugar feel, especially when you start to lose focus.
I'm starting to think GNU is the problem with "GNU/Linux" these days.