Swallow the insulin patch

RIA News 

Doctors from the University of Santa Barbara have created the world's first pill that allows you to deliver insulin to the body of diabetics without using injections, which should psychologically facilitate the intake of this hormone, as they told at a meeting of the Association of Pharmacists of the USA in Orlando (This request is blocked by the SonicWall Gateway Geo IP Service. Country Name: Russian Federation, the computer reported when trying to open the link. FTA!!! – VM).

"If we are talking about diabetes, it was extremely important for us to create methods of delivering insulin to the body orally. Today, diabetics are forced to inject themselves with insulin seven times a day, and this is often a big problem for them. Psychological discomfort often leads to violations of the medication regimen, complications and hospitalization," said Samir Mitragotri from the University of California at Santa Barbara (USA).

As doctors explain, the main problem with the oral delivery of insulin to the body is that its molecules are easily destroyed by digestive juices in the stomach and intestines, so scientists have been working for several decades to create means of protecting hormone molecules from the digestive system.

For the first time, Mitragotri and his colleagues were able to create pills that can not only deliver insulin to the human body orally, but also reduce the dose of medication by learning how to create special "nanoplastics" that can attach to the intestinal walls.

These patches, packed inside a protective capsule that protects them from the acids of gastric juice, perform two functions – they prevent the decomposition of insulin molecules hidden inside them and promote their penetration into the bloodstream through the walls of the small intestine.

According to Mitragotri, these pills have not yet been approved by regulatory authorities and they have yet to undergo clinical trials on animals and humans. When such permits are obtained, scientists from the University of Santa Barbara will check whether it is possible to use similar tablets with nanoplastics to deliver other drugs - growth hormones, antibodies and vaccines – which are also decomposed by enzymes and acids of the stomach and intestines.