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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."
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.
Otherwise, your blood sugar drops and you wind up eating to make up the calories.
If you're lucky. Sometimes someone gets unlucky and goes into insulin shock. If they're lucky, someone gets some sugar into them stat.
Sometimes they're unlucky and a cop tries smacking them around for driving (or walking, or sitting) drunk. This doesn't end well.
Lacking <sarcasm> tags,