Oral Pill That Treats, Prevents Type One Diabetes Could Build Long-Term Immunity

Scientists at Yale developed an oral medication that not only treats Type One diabetes but could also reverse the ill effects of the debilitating disease. The team published its findings in the Nature Biomedical Engineering journal last November.

Tarek Fahmy, an associate professor of biomedical engineering and of immunobiology at the university, explained that the new drug would be superior to current treatments in two major ways.

Firstly, as an oral treatment, the pill will be more convenient for patients to administer to themselves on a daily basis. Secondly, it can help fight three effects of the illness at the same time by controlling glucose levels, restoring pancreatic function, and rebuilding immunity in the pancreatic environment.

“What excites me about this is that it’s a two-pronged approach. It’s facilitating normal metabolism as well as correcting immune defects in the long term,” explained Fahmy.

According to The Brighter Side of News, one of the main reasons successful oral medications for diabetes are so hard to create is due to the fact that most pills break down in a patient’s stomach and intestines. 

However, by using a particular nanoparticle, the insulin within the drug is protected till it reaches the pancreas. The scientists polymerized the nanoparticle, made of ursodeoxycholic acid, allowing it to bond better with receptors in the body.

The team found that in a test on mice, the medication helped reverse inflammation in the animals’ bodies, restored normal metabolism, corrected insulin levels, and extended their rate of survival overall. As per New Atlas, similar results were achieved in tests on pigs.

Going forward, the team hopes the nanoparticles can be embedded with other molecules to treat different diseases.

“The potential is enormous for diabetes and other disease states as well,” said Fahmy. 

“I am hopeful that this technical development will be leveraged in the development of urgent solutions to what are presently difficult challenges in autoimmunity, cancer, allergies, and infections.”

[via The Brighter Side of News and New Atlas, cover image via Shutterstock]