Researchers at Kumamoto University in Japan have made a significant breakthrough toward an oral insulin pill, potentially ending the need for daily injections for millions of diabetes patients, 24NewsHD TV reported on Tuesday.
For decades, people with diabetes have relied on insulin injections to control blood sugar levels, as their pancreas either fails to produce enough insulin or stops producing it entirely.
Without insulin therapy, elevated blood sugar can lead to serious complications, including kidney damage, vision loss, cardiovascular disease, and stroke.
Developing an oral insulin pill has been a long-standing challenge for more than a century, largely because insulin is a protein that is degraded in the stomach and intestines before it can enter the bloodstream.
The team used a cyclic peptide to protect insulin in the digestive system, allowing it to reach the bloodstream.
In tests on diabetic mice, two methods—incorporating insulin into zinc-stabilized peptide complexes and directly linking insulin to peptides—successfully normalized blood sugar for up to three days.
"These findings demonstrate that peptide-assisted oral insulin delivery is feasible,” the researchers said.
Previous obstacles, including the need for extremely high oral doses, were overcome by their novel techniques.
The team emphasized that daily insulin injections are challenging for many patients and that oral delivery could significantly improve quality of life.
They also noted that further research, including clinical trials in humans, is necessary before an oral insulin pill can become widely available.