insulin

The most effective way for people with diabetes to deliver insulin is also incredibly intrusive. Millions around the world must inject the crucial hormone underneath their skin several times a day to keep their glucose levels in balance.For years, scientists have looked for an easier, cheaper, more convenient, and less wasteful alternative to insulin pumps and pens.While potential oral treatments are making headway, there are still several hurdles to overcome. A new approach seems to have come up with a solution to at…

An insulin pen.Photo: Sajjad Hussain/AFP (Getty Images)A team of scientists in Canada say they’re a major step closer to creating an easy-to-take oral insulin tablet. In new research, theyfound that rats dosed with their dissolvable tablet seem to absorb the insulin the same way they do when given a typical insulin shot. Should their work pay off, it could lead to a more cost-effective treatment, or at least one that’s less painful for many diabetics.It’s been more than a century since insulin was first isolated and…

Until recently, the gene therapy Zolgensma was the most expensive drug ever approved in the U.S. Image: Shutterstock (Shutterstock)The U.S. healthcare system is, to put it lightly, a complete trash fire. Compared to people living in other well-off countries, Americans are overall sicker and die at a younger age. Adding insult to injury, Americans also have to pay more for their health care, and a large part of that added cost comes from high-priced prescription drugs and other treatments.In mid-August, President Biden…

The Good Brigade | Digitalvision | Getty ImagesA new legislative package signed into law by President Joe Biden on Tuesday is a big win for Medicare patients who struggle to cover the cost of insulin to manage their diabetes.But the bill, called the Inflation Reduction Act, falls short of applying those cost controls to the broader patient population who rely on insulin.The bill limits insulin co-pays to $35 per month for Medicare Part D beneficiaries starting in 2023. Notably, seniors covered by Medicare also have a…

The immune system’s foreign body response is important for keeping us healthy – but it’s not so useful when that foreign body is a medical implant. Researchers at MIT have now developed a device that prevents scar tissue forming around implants by gently inflating and deflating every 12 hours.When the immune system detects an object that doesn’t belong in the body, it mounts a response to prevent infection or other complications. Part of that response involves forming a thick layer of scar tissue around the object, to…

Insulin was first discovered in 1921, and the following year, a 14-year-old boy suffering from diabetes became the first person treated with it. The medical breakthrough won a Nobel Prize in 1923. The hormone was originally taken from the pancreas of cows and pigs, but in 1978 scientists figured out how to make a synthetic human version. It was the first drug made via genetic engineering. Since then, three companies have dominated the US insulin market: Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk, and Sanofi.Manufacturing insulin is no small…

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.Blood glucose levels are managed by the hormone insulin, which is produced in beta cells in the pancreas. However, these cells begin to die off in patients with type 1 diabetes, resulting in little or no insulin production and a lifelong requirement for supplementary insulin shots to manage…

Insulin prices are so high that California has decided to make its own, California Governor Gavin Newsom said on Thursday. $100 million of the state’s budget will be put into the effort, which seeks to make the lifesaving drug more affordable after years of skyrocketing prices. “Nothing epitomizes market failures more than the cost of insulin,” Newsom said in a brief statement posted online, noting that patients can pay $300–$500 a month for the drug. California is going to make its own insulin.It’s simple. People…

Andrea Park / Fierce Biotech: France-based Diabeloop, whose AI-based diabetes management tech automatically adjusts insulin as needed, raises a €70M Series C led by LBO France — After decades of having to juggle multiple devices and fingerprick systems to take their own blood sugar readings and use … Andrea Park / Fierce Biotech: France-based Diabeloop, whose AI-based diabetes management tech automatically adjusts insulin as needed, raises a €70M Series C led by LBO France …

Being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes today means a lifetime of insulin injections – as of yet, we don't have a simple one-time fix on hand.To date, each breakthrough promising a diabetes cure has encountered significant hurdles, making it not viable for the vast majority of people. Now, researchers in the US have improved upon one type of transplant-based treatment, potentially giving hope to the 9 million people around the world with this condition.  "The immune system is a tightly controlled defense mechanism that…