Peptide drugs are a common treatment used for diabetes, which are hormones that can aid this condition. Not only do peptides offer beneficial effects on the body but they are also broken down easily by the body. Regular injections of this hormone could lead to insulin levels in the body becoming erratic, which leads to drugs being less effective. The new jelly system could revolutionise this system, by copying the peptide formula which is fused with heat-sensitive polymers.
The heat sensitivity means that the protein turns to jelly inside the body, which is later broken down gradually by the body’s enzymes to slowly release the drug over a period of time. This works in a similar way to microsphere-release technology, which is a process that works by loading polymers with peptide drugs which are then injected under the skin – jelly, however, is less painful to inject. Diabetes is a condition which is largely influenced by your lifestyle and affects millions of people over the globe. If you think that you may be at risk of developing diabetes, or that you may already have it, you should speak to your GP as soon as possible to determine if this is the case.
Professors at the biomedical engineering department of Duke’s University stated that the study came about whilst in search for a new system which removed the microspheres from the regular treatment but kept its efficiency, as well as being more patient friendly. Other experiments involving an insulin-regulating hormone suggests that this new jelly technology could create a dramatic reduction in the number of injections required by diabetic patients. In just one injection of the jelly formula, the hormone was able to reduce the levels of blood glucose for up to five days – this is 120 times longer than those injected with just the peptide. For sufferers of type 2 diabetes, this is far more preferable than regular daily injections.
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