Each year, around 6,000 French people are diagnosed with type 1 diabetes (T1D). This chronic, autoimmune disease (which is much less common than type 2 diabetes) is characterized by the gradual destruction of certain cells in the pancreas responsible for secreting insulin, the hormone that regulates blood sugar levels. blood (blood sugar).
In addition to the hygieno-dietetic measures, the management of type 1 diabetes requires the establishment of insulin therapy. Concretely, patients must regularly inject insulin – using a syringe or a pen.
When taken orally, insulin is transported directly to the pancreas
Good news for people with type 1 diabetes: in a new study published in the trade journal Nature Biomedical Engineering, researchers at Yale University (in the United States) presented an innovative treatment for T1D. This is oral insulin therapy in pill form.
How it works ? The researchers explain that the insulin contained in the pill is protected from gastric juices (very acidic, responsible for digestion) by nanoparticles, which allows it to be transported to the pancreas. Better: according to scientists, this insulin taken orally prevents the immune system from destroying the cells of the pancreas. This innovative treatment would therefore make it possible to bring insulin to the body … while fighting against the cause of type 1 diabetes.
At present, oral insulin therapy has only been tested in pigs and mice. The researchers found that this treatment worked (on average) 7 times faster than insulin injected subcutaneously (pens or syringes).
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