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Insulin patch promising in animal models
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A new insulin patch, developed by the University of North Carolina and NC State, revealed promising results in a mouse model to lower blood glucose in type 2 diabetes for up to 9 hours, according to a press release.
“We have designed a patch for diabetes that works fast, is easy to use, and is made from nontoxic, biocompatible materials,” Zhen Gu, PhD, professor in the Joint University of North Carolina/North Carolina State Department of Biomedical Engineering, said in a press release. “The whole system can be personalized to account for a diabetic’s weight and sensitivity to insulin so we could make the smart patch even smarter.”
The patch is covered with microneedles packed with microscopic storage units for insulin and glucose-sensing enzymes. The needles release the medications when blood glucose levels get too high.
When the patch was applied to mice, blood glucose levels were under control within 30 minutes and remained so for several hours. Further, the patch did not reveal the same hazards that insulin injections do.
“The hard part of diabetes care is not the insulin shots, or the blood sugar checks, or the diet but the fact that you have to do them all several times a day every day for the rest of your life,” John B. Buse, MD, PhD, director of the UNC Diabetes Care Center, said in the release. “If we can get these patches to work in people, it will be a game changer.”
The patch is one of many options in development that could reduce the burden of using insulin injections for diabetes. In 2014, Google announced they were developing a contact lens to monitor glucose.
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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