www.diabeteschannel.com.au

Home | Login or Become a Member  
Sitemap
  • Latest News
  • Latest Research
04 March 2010
A message from the CEO of Diabetes Australia-NSW on Australian Government Health Reforms
 
The Australian Government yesterday announced major reforms to Australia’s health and hospital system.
 
26 February 2010
Diabetes increases dementia risk in older people
 
British researchers have found that older people with mild cognitive impairment are three times more likely to develop dementia if they have diabetes.
 
09 March 2010
Combined diet and exercise the key to improving insulin resistance
 
Combining diet and exercise rather than diet and exercise alone leads to significantly greater improvements in body fat distribution and insulin resistance, according to the findings of a new study.
 
04 March 2010
Salt intake linked with stroke, heart disease risk
 
A new Italian study suggests that by lowering our salt intake we could substantially reduce the amount of deaths from heart disease and stroke worldwide.
 

Oral insulin a step closer

20 February 2008

For over 80 years, injections have been the only way of delivering insulin to people with diabetes, but new studies have brought oral insulin a step closer.

A major problem for oral insulin is that acids in the stomach destroy insulin before it can have a suitable effect on blood glucose.

The first study, by Syracuse University in New York and published in the December issue of journal ChemMedChem, tried to solve this problem by binding insulin to vitamin B-12. The vitamin B-12 carries and protects the insulin in the stomach, allowing the insulin to be absorbed into the blood through the small intestine.

While the results were promising, the researchers discovered that vitamin B-12 only had a limited capacity to be absorbed, meaning not enough insulin was being taken in to have sufficient effect.

The second and third studies, carried out by Indian researchers, took this idea further but rather than binding one insulin molecule to one vitamin B-12 molecule, they coated a nanoparticle with multiple B-12 molecules. This increased the ability of vitamin B-12 absorption in the intestine, therefore increasing the amount of insulin being absorbed into the blood.

Their findings, published in the Journal of Controlled Release, were that using this method, up to 36,000 insulin molecules can be taken up for every one vitamin B-12 molecule absorbed into the blood, resulting in blood glucose levels being lowered to the normal range.

So far, this method of oral insulin has only been tested in animals, with the researchers now preparing to move into human trials.

Other new forms of insulin delivery are also being researched, such as inhaled insulin, but so far results have been mixed.

Sources:
- Petrus, Vortherms, Fairchild, Doyle. Vitamin B12 as a Carrier for the Oral Delivery of Insulin. ChemMedChem, Volume 2 Issue 12;1661-1838; 10 December, 2007
- Kishore et al. Effective oral delivery of insulin in animal models using vitamin B12-coated dextran nanoparticles. Journal of Controlled Release, Volume 122, Issue 2;141-150;26 September 2007

 

Billboard
Issues
Our member magazine. Latest edition out now.
Diabetes in the Family booklets
Download these helpful booklets.
Health and Education Events
Ways to improve management
Programs and Seminars throughout the year.
Recipe of the week
Healthy and nutritious meals every week.
Diabetes simulation
Watch, listen and learn how you could be affected by diabetes.
Join us on Facebook
Be a fan of Diabetes Australia-NSW on Facebook