New Hope for Diabetics: “Smart Insulin” that Only Works when Required
The new formula remains inactive in the body and starts working when blood sugar levels rise
Researchers have developed a new insulin formula that has the amazing ability to respond to changing blood sugar levels in real time, and the new formula could revolutionize the treatment of millions of people with type 1 diabetes worldwide.
Researchers from the United States, Australia and China have developed a new form of insulin that mimics the body’s natural response to fluctuating blood sugar levels, responding instantly, like a healthy pancreas.
This new treatment, called “Smart Insulin,” remains inactive in the body until needed, and responds immediately to high blood sugar levels, helping to maintain balance without the need for repeated injections.
“Smart insulin” is still in the development and testing stages, but its potential to transform the lives of people with type 1 diabetes is undeniable.
For people with type 1 diabetes, managing their blood sugar levels is a relentless daily challenge, with patients currently having to inject themselves with synthetic insulin up to 10 times a day to stay alive.
Hazem Abbas
Constant fluctuations between high and low blood sugar levels can lead to short- and long-term physical health problems, and attempts to maintain stable levels can also affect patients’ mental health.
Diabetes management
Diabetes is a global health problem that causes high fasting blood glucose levels, or hyperglycemia. Insulin, which is used to manage diabetes, is a hormone produced by the pancreas that regulates blood sugar levels by sending signals to liver and muscle cells to absorb and store glucose as glycogen.
Type 1 diabetes results from the autoimmune destruction of insulin-producing cells, leading to insulin deficiency, while type 2 diabetes is characterized by insulin resistance, despite normal or high insulin levels.
Other forms, such as diabetes during pregnancy, cause similar blood glucose problems, requiring careful management, often with the help of insulin.
Diabetes management involves self-administration of external insulin, especially for those with type 1 diabetes and advanced type 2 diabetes.
However, tight control of blood sugar levels is difficult, and poor adherence to insulin therapy can lead to serious complications.
Severe hypoglycemia, for example, can cause coma or even death, while chronically unstable blood glucose levels can contribute to cardiovascular disease and other serious health problems.
While advances have been made in insulin formulations that provide more predictable pharmacokinetics, there is still a great need for better tools to achieve precise blood sugar control and avoid immediate and long-term complications.
Traditional insulin therapies stabilize blood sugar levels shortly after injection, but their effects are temporary, and as blood sugar levels continue to fluctuate throughout the day, patients often find themselves needing additional injections only hours later.
This cycle of repeated dosing is physically and mentally exhausting, and does not provide the kind of stable, long-term control that is critical to optimal health.
How The New Smart Insulin Works
The new treatment belongs to a class of drugs known as “smart drugs,” which are drugs designed to deliver treatment in a more precise and controlled manner than conventional drugs.
Smart drugs are characterized by their ability to respond to specific stimuli or conditions in the body, such as changes in pH, temperature, or the presence of certain molecules such as glucose.
This allows the drug to be released or activated only when needed, reducing side effects and improving the effectiveness of treatment.
Smart drugs are part of the broader field of smart drug delivery systems, which aim to improve treatment outcomes by targeting specific sites or conditions within the body, thus enhancing the effectiveness of treatment while minimizing risks.
The main challenge in developing smart drug delivery systems was to create formulations that can automatically sense glucose levels and deliver the appropriate dose of insulin.
The new smart drug aims to achieve closed-loop insulin therapy, where insulin delivery is fully self-regulated based on real-time glucose monitoring.
Dr Tim Hayes, deputy chair of the scientific advisory committee for the new insulin, said smart insulin could herald a new era in the fight against diabetes, according to the Guardian.
“Even with the insulins currently available, people living with type 1 diabetes have to put a lot of effort into managing their diabetes every day, finding a good balance between acceptable blood sugar control and avoiding hypoglycaemia,”.
“The new glucose-responsive insulin is seen as the closest we can get to a cure for type 1 diabetes” he added.
£3 million Awarded
A total of nearly £3 million has been awarded to six research projects developing different types of smart insulin. They include teams from Stanford University in the US, Monash University in Australia and Zhejiang University in China. The aim is to accelerate development and launch trials as soon as possible.
Each project aims to fine-tune smart insulin to work faster and more accurately, relieving some or all of the huge burden of managing type 1 diabetes and reducing the risk of long-term complications.
Rachel Connor, director of research partnerships at Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF UK), said: “While insulin has been saving lives for over 100 years now, and previous research has driven important changes for people with type 1, it is still not good enough.”
There are three main strategies for incorporating glucose sensing into these formulations: “enzymatic sensing, natural glucose-binding proteins, and synthetic molecular recognition.”
Each approach has shown promising results, but significant hurdles remain in improving response time, ensuring precise blood sugar control, and enhancing biocompatibility and safety of the materials used.
The new smart glucose-responsive insulin only becomes active when there is a certain amount of sugar in the blood to prevent hyperglycemia, and becomes inactive again when levels drop below a certain point, preventing hypoglycemia.
Experts believe that in the future, patients may need insulin only once a week. The researchers said that smart insulin heralds a new era in the fight against diabetes.
History behind the innovation
Decades ago, scientists developed glucose-responsive materials—insulin released into the blood when blood sugar levels rise—using lectins, a group of proteins that naturally bind to carbohydrates.
One of the most studied lectins is concanavaline, which has been used in various ways to sense glucose levels.
The concept was first explored in 1979, when researchers showed that insulin could be released in response to glucose by combining it with concanavaline.
Over time, this idea has been expanded by incorporating concanavaline into polymers or microcapsules, allowing for the controlled release of insulin.
When glucose levels rise, glucose molecules compete with insulin to bind to concanavaline, triggering insulin release as needed.
Another innovative approach involves using concanavaline as a binder to create polymer hydrogels.
These hydrogels, made from synthetic polymers, respond to glucose by swelling, as glucose disrupts the concanavalin crosslinks, and this process could be harnessed to create hydrogels that release insulin when glucose levels rise.
By adjusting the balance within the hydrogel, scientists could precisely control insulin release.
Another approach to smart insulin is that instead of relying on natural glucose-sensing elements such as lectins or enzymes, researchers could use synthetic molecules, such as phenylboronic acids, to bind glucose.
Phenylboronic acids are known to bind reversibly to glucose and other similar molecules, making them effective in glucose-responsive systems.
The development of glucose-responsive materials for drug delivery represents a major advance in diabetes management, as they could provide a more dynamic and safer way to deliver insulin.
Researchers say the development of smart insulin, which responds to changing blood sugar levels in real time, represents a groundbreaking advance in diabetes care that has the potential to significantly ease the daily burden for millions of people living with type 1 diabetes.
The new research could revolutionize diabetes treatment by providing better blood sugar control, reducing the risk of complications, and easing the mental and physical challenges associated with the condition.
Smart insulin heralds a new era in diabetes management, offering hope for a future where diabetes management is less challenging and more seamless.
