A new type of insulin that can adapt to blood sugar levels has been successfully tested in lab studies and animal trials.
This breakthrough, reported in Nature, could offer a safer and more flexible way for people with diabetes to manage their blood sugar, reducing the risk of sudden and potentially life-threatening drops.
For many people with diabetes, managing blood sugar requires regular insulin injections.
However, predicting how blood sugar will change is often tricky, and even a slight miscalculation in insulin dosage can lead to a dangerous condition known as hypoglycemia, where blood sugar drops too low.
This is especially concerning because severe hypoglycemia can cause symptoms such as confusion, unconsciousness, or even death if not quickly treated.
Rita Slaaby and her team of researchers have developed a modified form of insulin that works differently from the standard versions. This new insulin, named NNC2215, includes a “glucose-responsive switch.”
In simple terms, this means the insulin can sense the amount of glucose in the blood and adjust its activity accordingly. When blood sugar levels are high, the switch opens, making the insulin more active to bring down the glucose levels.
On the other hand, if glucose levels drop too low, the switch closes, preventing further insulin activity and reducing the risk of hypoglycemia.
The researchers tested NNC2215 in lab experiments and on animals with diabetes, such as rats and pigs. When they increased the blood glucose concentration from 3 to 20 mM (the range commonly seen in people with diabetes), the new insulin showed a 3.2-fold increase in its effectiveness.
This indicates that it could react dynamically to changes in blood sugar, adjusting its activity to meet the body’s needs.
In the animal models, NNC2215 performed just as well as standard human insulin in lowering blood sugar levels. More importantly, it demonstrated an added advantage of being more sensitive to changes in blood sugar, thus helping protect against hypoglycemia.
This feature could be particularly valuable for individuals with diabetes, especially during sleep, when sudden drops in blood sugar are harder to detect and manage.
The research team believes that this modified insulin could have a significant impact on the quality of life for people with diabetes.
By reducing the risk of severe hypoglycemia, it could help prevent complications that arise from constantly fluctuating blood sugar levels. In the long run, it might also lower the chances of developing other health issues linked to poorly controlled diabetes.
While more research and clinical trials are needed before this modified insulin can become widely available, the results are promising. If successful, NNC2215 could pave the way for a safer and smarter approach to diabetes management.
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The research findings can be found in Nature.
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