Oral form of insulin to help diabetes sufferers

There's good news for the millions of Americans who suffer from diabetes.

A new method for taking insulin has been developed that mimics the way the body naturally processes this crucial hormone.

There are two types of diabetes. Type 1, or juvenile onset diabetes, is treated with daily insulin injections. Type 2 diabetes, which is more common, can sometimes be treated by diet alone or through a combination of diet and oral medication or insulin. Serious complications associated with the disease include heart disease, stroke, vision problems, kidney damage and more.

Oramed Pharmaceuticals Inc. is a biotechnology company focused on the commercial development of proprietary oral delivery solutions. Its scientists are developing methods of oral delivery for drugs and vaccinations that are currently unavailable in an oral form, such as insulin.

As opposed to insulin taken by injection, the oral delivery of insulin mimics the ways in which the body naturally produces, regulates and distributes the hormone. The capsule causes insulin to penetrate from the gastrointestinal tract into the liver. The organ then regulates the intake of the hormone prior to passing it into the circulatory system.

This revolutionizes the way in which insulin is delivered to the body by enabling its passage in a more physiologically normal manner. The oral insulin capsule has the potential to help millions of diabetics worldwide better control their diabetes by ingesting the capsule at an earlier stage of the treatment.

The number of diabetics is growing. There are more than 240 million diabetics worldwide, with nearly 21 million suffering from the disease in America alone. According to the American Diabetes Association and the World Health Organization, the number of people with diabetes is expected to increase to 380 million by the year 2025. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has characterized this increase as an epidemic.

This story provided by North American Precis Syndicate Inc.