Oral Insulin For Prevention or Delay of Type 1 Diabetes, In Clinical Trials

Filed in archive Developments , Research , Treatment on November 12, 2007

An international clinical trial (where researchers at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC are participating) studying the effectiveness of oral insulin in preventing or delaying the onset of type 1 diabetes in people at risk for the disease, is currently underway.

According to Dorothy Becker, MBBCh, chief of the Division of pediatric diabetes and Endocrinology at Children's and principal investigator of the study:

"Type 1 diabetes is a very difficult disease to manage. Because it typically begins in childhood or young adulthood, and if not properly controlled with insulin injections and diet and exercise, diabetes can lead to a lifetime of complications that can cause chronic disability and be life-threatening.

If oral insulin could delay the onset or prevent the disease, we could spare these patients years of difficult management and potential complications such as heart disease and vision loss."
The belief is that insulin introduced via the digestive tract may induce tolerance, quieting the immune system's attack on itself."

If all clinical trials go well and the oral insulin is approved by regulatory agencies such as the FDA, a once-daily insulin capsule will be able to prevent or delay the onset of type 1 diabetes in relatives of people who are found to be at risk for developing the disease.

Find more details from Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh.