Microencapsulated Porcine Islets for Sustained Insulin and Therapeutic Delivery [1]
Type 1 diabetes--when a human's body is unable to produce sufficient insulin to regulate blood sugar levels--impacts millions of people worldwide, including nearly 2 million people in the US alone. The advent of insulin injections a centuray ago to treat type 1 diabetics transformed the disease from a virtual death sentence to a manageable medical condition. More than 100 years after the first treatment of a type 1 diabetic with insulin, however, people suffering from type 1 diabetes still must administer daily injections in order to manage their disease.
Minimally-invasive, long-term blood sugar control would transform the lives of people suffering from Type I diabetes, who currently manage their disease through constant insulin monitoring, a specialized diet, and daily injections. Researchers from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have developed a technology that enables such treatment. Their approach uses a system of microcapsules and microspheres to introduce and sustain insulin-producing porcine pancreatic islets within a patient for weeks or more.
Benefits
- Long-term blood sugar control
- Could reduce or eliminate need for insulin injections
Publication