A team of researchers at University of British Columbia have made a revolutionary discovery of replacing oral tablets for daily injections.
Dr. Anubhav Pratap Singh, principal investigator, said that these results will improve the quality of life as it will no longer need to inject it before every meal. It will also improve the mental health of more than 9 million Type 1 diabetics globally.
Dr. Alberto Baldelli, a senior fellow researcher observed in their tablet that almost 100 per cent of the insulin goes straight into the liver. These results are in contrast to their previous attempts where the drinkable insulin would accumulate in the stomach.
Change in the mode of delivery in human body
Injections are not mostly convenient to diabetes patients. But with the rise of oral alternatives, tested and developed by the UBC team the absorption rate of these supplements is higher. This tablet can be swallowed when placed between the gum and cheek. This passes through the buccal mucosa( a thin membrane found within the lining of the inner cheek and back of the lips) where all the insulin is delivered to the liver without wasting or decomposing along the way.
Yigong, a PhD candidate working on the same tablet adds that the biggest challenge for them was to work around the area where 100iu of injected insulin is needed per shot, whereas for other swallowed tablets, 500iu of insulin per shot is required , where mostly the swallowed tablets tends to release it slowly over two to four hours as compared to injected one which are fully released in 30-120 minutes.
Broader potential benefits of consuming them
This study might take time as it is yet to go for trials in humans, but Dr. Pratap highlighted its benefit and how it would be sustainable and accessible.
Based on data more than 3,00,000 Canadians inject insulin multiple times per day and that is a lot of environmental waste, from the needles to plastic and syringes, and these are usually not even sent for proper recycling.
Their hope is to reduce the cost of insulin per dose and make it more accessible for the public. Transporting these tablets would also be easier for diabetic patients, who currently have to think about keeping their doses cool.
