New hope of monthly jabs for diabetics
DIABETICS could soon be given monthly injections of insulin, sparing them the misery of daily jabs.
Scientists have developed a solution that turns to jelly once in the body, slowly releasing the insulin as it dissolves, providing weeks of glucose control.
In experiments on animals, it gave glucose control up to three times longer than treatments currently on the market.
And the method could be used to deliver other drugs, such as painkillers.
Kelli Luginbuhl, a PhD student at Duke University in North Carolina, USA, and study co-author, said the method was “exciting”.
She said: “Our metabolism is slower than monkeys and mice, so the treatment should last longer in humans.”