Insulin

Technology that delivers insulin orally rather than regular injections would be a game-changing advance in medical science, and a team of MIT scientists has made a breakthrough in this space in the form of a drug capsule with a robotic, tunneling head.

The immune system’s foreign body response is key for keeping us healthy – but it’s not so useful when that foreign body is a medical implant. A new device prevents scar tissue forming around implants by gently inflating and deflating every 12 hours.

Australian scientists have demonstrated a new way to restore insulin production in pancreatic cells, using a drug that’s already approved for use in humans. The study could mark a major breakthrough towards new treatments for diabetes.

The sight of a mouthwatering dish can certainly be enough to send our senses into overdrive, and a new study has demonstrated how the mechanisms behind this may play an important role in type 2 diabetes.

Diabetes can result from a loss of cells that produce insulin. Swedish researchers have now identified a molecule that helps stimulate the growth of new insulin-producing cells, and uncovered how it works, opening up new potential diabetes treatments.

The results of a clinical trial offer promising signs that daily doses of an insulin nasal spray could be used to slow age-related cognitive decline. The trial found the treatment to be effective in elderly subjects with and without type 2 diabetes.

A preclinical study has demonstrated, across several animal studies, how an experimental drug can treat type 2 diabetes by increasing the expression of a recently discovered protein found to influence insulin signaling in cells.

Scientists have now identified a cellular pathway that can contribute to the death of insulin-producing cells. They found that blocking it in mice and human cells keeps the beta cells alive for longer, delaying or preventing the onset of diabetes.

Diabetics typically have to receive insulin via daily injections, or sometimes even from implanted pumps. According to a new study, however, a simple inner-cheek patch could one day provide a far less painful and invasive alternative.

Insulin regulates blood glucose levels, and issues often lead to diabetes. But now, scientists at the Salk Institute have identified another molecular pathway that regulates blood glucose, which could open up a brand new avenue for treating diabetes.

Scientists at Harvard University have made a breakthrough that implicates a newly discovered hormone in the onset of diabetes, and shown how it can be targeted to reverse the effects of the disease.

New studies are reporting results from a type 1 diabetes human clinical trial testing a device containing stem cells designed to mature into insulin-secreting cells. The experimental implant was found to be safe, well-tolerated and mildly effective.