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New
Insulin Seen as Key to Saving Millions of Patients with Diabetics!
Nanomized
Insulin made of smaller particles and reduces number of daily
injections.
People
with diabetes may only need a third of their usual dose when
taking the new form of insulin, a team of Australian scientists
has shown. It is made up of tiny particles under 100 nanometres
(100 millionths of a millimeter) across.
In
tests on rats conducted at Deakin University, near Melbourne, 0.15
units per kilogram of body weight produced the same response as
0.5 units of normal insulin.
The
study did not set out to establish a minimum dose, and experts
believe the new insulin may be more than three times as potent as
the traditional form. The new drug also produced a more sustained
effect, New Scientist magazine reported.
Normal
insulin starts to lose its effect after 30 minutes, but the
nanomised insulin continued to act strongly for at least an hour.
That means diabetics might be able to cut back from five
injections a day to only two or three, said New Scientist.
The
new insulin was produced by Eiffel Technologies of Melbourne using
a "supercritical fluid" process also being developed by
other companies. To nanomize insulin, a gas is first put under
such high pressure that it becomes "supercritical'' and
starts to behave like a liquid.
Normal
insulin is dissolved in the supercritical fluid, which is suddenly
decompressed, making the insulin precipitate out in particles. If
it lives up to its promise nanomised insulin could relieve a
worldwide shortage of insulin that is causing the deaths of
millions of diabetics in developing countries.
It
is not clear why nanomized insulin is more efficient or why it
lasts longer. An expert who reviewed the Deakin study said insulin
molecules normally "cluster together in a six-pack"
configuration which the body has to convert back to a single form.
With nanomized insulin, this process may not be necessary.
The
scientists believe the technique could also improve the
effectiveness of other drugs and allow them to be delivered in
easier ways, such as through skin patches.
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