Scientists promise that daily insulin injections would have become a thing of the past

Millions of people in the world suffer from diabetes. According to New Atlas, diabetics have to constantly monitor blood sugar concentrations and do insulin injections. Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) is usually used for type 2 diabetes. It makes the pancreas to release insulin, but this compound does not live long in the body.

Scientists from Duke University have tried to design a longer-lasting version of the peptide. For this purpose, they had to find a compound that binds GLP1 to prolong its life. Then it was necessary to develop a method to control the release rate of GLP-1 molecules. Both problems were solved by using a heat-sensitive polypeptide resembling elastin. It could be mixed with the peptide. Since it was injected into the skin as a solution, began to react to body heat by forming a gel storage. Further this reservoir of medicine began to dissolve and release the filling gradually.

Animal studies have showed that even a single injection of the altered peptide was sufficient to regulate the blood sugar concentration in 10 days for mice and more than 14 days for monkeys. What is important is that all this time the active substance was secreted in the same doses and at the same rate. Scientists believe that due to metabolism characteristics, a drug with the peptide can work even longer when administered to a human.

Source: New Atlas.