A quest to free diabetics from insulin injections has been in scientists’ minds for a long time. One of the best case scenarios is to figure out a way to transplant beta cells, the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas that fail and result in type 1 diabetes, into patients’ pancreas. However, this type of procedure is invasive and there is the risk that the body will reject these foreign cells.
A scientific breakthrough has now been achieved; a patch that is covered in beta cells, which can be stuck to the patient’s skin painlessly. The cells on the patch secrete insulin which is then delivered through the skin and blood sugar is safely regulated. No injections required!
…blood sugar was controlled safely for at least 10 hours at a time
To date, the patch has only been tested on mice with type 1 diabetes, and it was observed that blood sugar was controlled safely for at least 10 hours at a time. It will be only a matter of time before studies on mice cease and the patch passes to the next phase to be tested on humans.
The main difference between this new patch and the “smart insulin patch” reported by the same team in 2015 is that this new patch contains live beta cells. This allows a safer management of blood sugar because the is little to no chance of having the body reject the cells since they are outside on the skin, rather than sitting directly on the pancreas.
The way the patch works is by linking a network of miniature needles to a culture of live beta cells. The needles are so small they will not cause discomfort. The researchers are also working on a system in the patch itself that responds to changing levels of blood sugar, they call it the “glucose signal amplifier.”
…the patch is not only quicker and easier than insulin injections, but also safer.
Diabetes patients often administer too much or too little insulin, which can lead to complications such as blindness, hypoglycemia, and in extreme cases death. For this reason, the patch is not only quicker and easier than insulin injections, but also safer.
Even when a patch was applied to a mouse with already had a patch and regulated levels of blood sugar. The new patch did not increase the levels of insulin in the blood. This was tested to prove that the patch is safe, even when blood sugar levels are on point.
There is still work to be done on the patches. They need to be improved to extend the time they can regulate blood sugar for more than 10 hours — you don’t want to wake up in the middle of the night to change it. They also need to boost their general performance in animal models before they pass on to pre-clinical tests, and eventually clinical trials in humans. Nevertheless, this is indeed an amazing development and something to be excited about.
