Experts announced that scientists have developed a “holy grail” insulin that adjusts itself to the change of sugar levels in one’s blood. According to experts, this new approach will revolutionize the way diabetes is managed and give hope to millions who, every day, go through the laborious task of taking synthetic insulin several times daily.
Currently, a patient with type 1 diabetes has to introduce artificial insulin into the body up to ten times a day to maintain his sugar levels. The continuous swings between hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia are hazardous to physical and mental health alike. In contrast, researchers from the US, Australia, and China have developed a new line of glucose-responsive insulins, which lie dormant in the body until needed and work just like the natural bodily response to changes in blood sugar.
Standard insulins can control blood sugar, but they must be taken frequently as they cannot anticipate further changes. The new smart insulins get activated only when the level of blood sugar crosses a threshold and get switched off when the levels fall; hence, there could be less need for frequent injections. Experts have felt that soon patients may be required to inject insulin once a week.
These smart insulins have been fast-tracked thanks to millions of pounds of grants from the Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge, a partnership between Diabetes UK, JDRF, and the Steve Morgan Foundation. This £50 million is funding high-tech research to fight for new treatments against type 1 diabetes.
Dr. Tim Heise, vice-chair of the scientific advisory panel for novel insulins of the Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge, said smart insulin could herald a new generation for treating diabetes. “Even with modern insulins, people with type 1 diabetes must put in substantial effort to balance glycemic control and avoid hypoglycemia. Glucose-responsive insulins considered the holy grail, could be as close to a cure for type 1 diabetes as any drug therapy.”
Nearly £3 million has been awarded to six research projects working on different types of smart insulin. Housed at Stanford University in the US, Monash University in Australia, and Zhejiang University in China, the ambition is to fine-tune smart insulin so that it works even more quickly and precisely, cutting the burden of managing type 1 diabetes, and the risk of long-term complications.
Four of these projects are dedicated solely to GRIs. Another has been developing a new, ultrafast, short-acting insulin that will right the delay between administering the insulin and its action which can allow blood glucose to rise to unsafe levels before the insulin has time to take effect. Faster insulins are also pivotal for the improved functioning of insulin pumps and hybrid closed-loop technology, both of which depend on the stored insulin reacting in real time to changes in blood glucose.
The sixth project combines insulin with another hormone, glucagon, which stimulates the liver to release more glucose when blood levels fall. Having both hormones in one formulation could prevent both highs and lows in blood glucose.
Dr. Elizabeth Robertson, head of research at Diabetes UK, emphasized how all these projects had the potential to make big differences in treating type 1 diabetes. “These pioneering research projects will involve working to create new insulins that are designed to copy how the body reacts to rises and falls in blood sugar levels—the hope is huge for reducing challenges that many people with type 1 diabetes face daily and for improving the physical and mental health of people with the condition. We believe that this research has the potential to bring life-changing improvements to care for people living with type 1 diabetes.”
This research was imperative, says Rachel Connor, director of research partnerships at JDRF UK. “Whilst insulin has been saving lives for over 100 years, managing glucose levels with insulin remains both a challenge and a burden. By envisioning a world where insulin can respond to changes in glucose levels in real-time, we hope that these six projects will help to create this new reality, liberating people living with T1D from the relentless demands of managing their condition.”
This is seminal research that might one day usher in a world where the daily battle is kept at bay for people suffering from type 1 diabetes, making it a condition much easier to deal with than it has been to manage.