Gel could reduce jabs for diabetics

An insulin gel would still mean some diabetics would have to check their blood glucose levels

Scientists at the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich have developed an insulin gel they say could provide diabetics with a respite from the daily needle.

Instead of having to jab themselves at least once a day, many diabetics would only have to inject themselves every two or even four weeks.

The discovery by researchers at the institute’s Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering involves a gelatinous substance containing an amount of insulin, which would then be complemented by an antibiotic taken orally.

The antibiotic pill would regulate the amount of insulin according to the patient’s requirements.

The two most common forms of diabetes are due to either a diminished production of insulin (type 1) or a diminished response by the body to insulin (type 2).

There is no widely available cure for any form of the disease. Type 1 diabetes can only be treated with injected insulin. Dietary and other lifestyle adjustments are commonly part of the treatment. Type 2 is usually managed with a combination of dietary treatment, tablets and frequently, insulin supplementation.

Initial tests on human cell cultures have been successful, the federal institute said last week, as the results were published on the science website Nature Materials. Tests on rats begin later this year.

The researchers, based in Basel and Zurich, are not the first to show an interest in so-called hydrogels. But the combination of the drug – contained in the gel – and the active substance which regulates it – taken orally – have always been too high to be used in the body, said Wilfried Weber, head of the group.

“What is new in our research is that we use, for the first time, pharmacological principles that regulate the drug,” he said.

Multidisciplinary

For Weber, a biochemist, the discovery has been made possible by the fact that his team comprises various disciplines.

“There are synthetic biologists, material specialists and chemists specialising in polymers. This is a rare combination,” he said.

Synthetic biology is not the analysis of cell function, but rather the reconstruction or living systems based on components whose use is already known – “it’s like Lego”, he said.

Weber said that if everything goes well with the gel, the new treatment could pass all the tests within five to seven years.

“Early stages”

However, the Swiss Diabetes Society’s reaction to the news has been cool.

“It’s in the early stages,” said director Doris Fischer. “The idea of replacing needles with a gel is interesting but it will take years. We don’t want to get people too excited.”

Fischer added that the issue for diabetics was not so much the injection of insulin, which is made into the subcutaneous fat between the skin and muscle, but glycaemia control in sufferers with type 2 diabetes by self-monitoring of blood glucose.

“Some diabetics have to prick their fingers up to six times a day,” she said. “Those are the injections that are a hassle and which this gel won’t change.”

She said diabetics had great expectations for new methods, but many – such as insulin which one inhales – have turned out not to work.

Other uses

Weber and his colleagues are not focusing solely on diabetes.

“Incorporating a drug into a gel is particularly well suited to ‘biopharmaceuticals’ – that’s to say proteins such as growth hormone,” he said.

“This also affects patients with kidney problems who have to inject themselves with erythropoietin, EPO.”

The gel is only a prototype, but its patent has already been granted. Switzerland’s 25,000-30,000 type 1 and 300,000-350,000 type 2 diabetics are crossing their pricked fingers.

swissinfo, based on an article in French by Ariane Gigon

Key facts

According to the World Health Organization, diabetes causes about 5% of all deaths globally each year.
There are 180 million people with diabetes in the world, 80% of whom live in low and middle-income countries.
Most people with diabetes in low and middle-income countries are middle-aged (45-64), not elderly (65+).
Diabetes deaths are likely to increase by more than 50% in the next 10 years without urgent action.
Ninety per cent of all diabetics are type 2. The rise of diabetes type 2 is causing widespread concern among health experts. In the next 20 years the number of those affected is expected to rise to 380 million worldwide.

Diabetes

Diabetes is a disease in which your blood glucose, or sugar, levels are too high.

Glucose comes from the foods eaten. Insulin is a hormone that helps the glucose get into your cells to give them energy. With type 1 diabetes, your body does not make insulin. With type 2 diabetes, the more common type, your body does not make or use insulin well. Without enough insulin, the glucose stays in your blood.

Over time, having too much glucose in your blood can damage your eyes, kidneys, and nerves. Diabetes can also cause heart disease, stroke and even lead to amputations.

Symptoms of type 2 diabetes can include fatigue, thirst, weight loss, blurred vision and frequent urination. Some people have no symptoms.