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Diabetes [1]

['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']

Date: 2024-06-12  

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Oral insulin drops under the tongue could replace diabetes injections

Diabetics sick of daily injections may have renewed hope for a less invasive alternative. Scientists at the University of British Columbia (UBC) have developed a new delivery method for insulin where users just place a few drops under their tongue.

For the new study, the UBC team developed a new system that might still be called oral insulin. Instead of being swallowed though, it takes the form of drops placed under the tongue. This method, known as sublingual administration, is useful for drugs that don’t survive the stomach. It’s effective because the tissue under the tongue contains a lot of capillaries, allowing the drug to quickly diffuse into the bloodstream.

Normally, this method wouldn’t work well for insulin because it’s a large molecule that can’t easily get through cells. So the team paired it with a cell-penetrating peptide (CPP), made from fish byproducts, that makes cells more porous.

The team tested the technique in mice. When paired with CPP, the insulin successfully reached the bloodstream and controlled blood glucose levels about as well as insulin delivered via injection. Without the guide peptide, the insulin tended to get stuck in the lining of the mouth.

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