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."

It's a complete game changer

[Begemot]

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.

Re:Preemptively Posting

[ebno-10db]

Sorry, no offense. Yes, I'm aware that weight is far from the only factor affecting type 2 diabetes. I have several relatives w/ type 2 that were able to reduce their medication dependence by losing weight (they were overweight to begin with), though of course it doesn't cure it.

I made my OP only because whenever health care is discussed (especially these days) there are sanctimonious assholes who attribute all health problems to people's poor habits, and think universal health care (if we ever get it) will pick their virtuous pockets to pay for other people's lack of virtue.

Re:Both

[Andy Dodd]

This advancement, if it pans out (most things don't, sadly...), it'll be great for Type Is.

Right now, it can be difficult to manage weight as a Type I - if you exercise, you must reduce your insulin dosage in advance. Otherwise, your blood sugar drops and you wind up eating to make up the calories.

While a normal person (or even a Type 2) can say "I'm gonna go for a run/long walk now because I feel like it", a Type 1's thought process, if they actually want to get benefit is, "I'm definitely going to go for a run/long walk after this meal. I will reduce my insulin dosage for this meal to compensate." Don't run after the meal? Bloodsugar goes high. Run after the meal without planning it before the meal? Bloodsugar goes low and you eat.

My initial reaction to the description of this was "oh, somewhat longer-acting Lantus", but it appears that it is actually load-reactive, sort of acting as an artificial pancreas. However, taking only one injection for a week is unlikely to work - the amount of insulin required for a week is far more than is practical for a single injection unless you're a little kid. That said, going down to 1-2 injections per day, and having that insulin react to load, is a MAJOR improvement for diabetics... Especially, as I said before, load-reactiveness.

Re:Preemptively Posting

[mpe]

As a T1D, I'll note that the GP didn't really comment on what it means to be a T2D. The characterization, however, is mostly true for an overwhelming majority of t2d, but completely false for t1d. T2D is controllable with diet and exercise alone in something like 80-90% of the T2D population. Weight and lifestyle factors make up an overwhelming percentage of the risk factors. And while there is clearly a genetic (usually associated with the likelihood that weight/lifestyle will give way to t2d, not that the genetics alone cause t2d) and medical condition component too, this is the clear minority.

Diabetes is more of a "syndrome" than a "disease". Even divided into groups of T1 (typically no insulin produced in the body), T2 (insulin resistant), T1.5 (LADA), MODY, T3 ("Double Diabetes") & "Gestational Diabetes".
Insulin resistance tends to promote conversion of glucose into fat since it reduces the amount the body can use for anything else. Obesity also tends to increase insulin resistance. Leading to a positive feedback loop. To make matters worst hyperglycemia is toxic to cells, including those which produce insulin.
An important factor is that in the last 30 or so years dietary advice has been to eat lots of carbohydrates. (In some cases up to 70%.) With the result that both obesity and T2 diabetes has dramatically increased. Something previously unheard of called "diabulimia" has appeared amongst T1 diabetics (mostly young women.) But the idea that "Low fat, low calorie, high carbohydrate" might not be the best (let alone the worst) kind of diet for humans tends to result in the classic "heritic treatment". The biggest irony being that humans (possibly all mammals) do not actually need to eat any carbohydrates in the first place. Are there many high carbohydrate (especially high starch) foods which are not the product of agriculture?