Sticky plaster to deliver insulin for diabetics instead of daily injections

Main Category: Diabetes
Article Date: 12 Apr 2004 - 0:00 PDT


Within the next five years we could see a sticky plaster replacing the daily injections for diabetics around the world.

A company in Swansea, Wales, UK, has developed a treatment for diabetes which uses a plaster to deliver insulin. This would mean millions of diabetics may not have to endure the daily injections. The company is called Starbridge Systems.

Nesta (National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts, UK) has awarded £120,000 to the researchers at Starbridge Systems. They are to work on a prototype. If all goes well we could see this product on the market within the next five years.

This plaster has a miniscule pump. It delivers insulin for the patient. It can also deliver other drugs. The patient would receive a three-day supply of insulin from one plaster. Patients can place the plaster anywhere on their body (on the skin).

There are some devices which deliver insulin through a catheter into the skin - they have an insulin pump and are worn like a pager on a belt. These devices can be awkward as there are tubes that can get blocked. The plasters, on the other hand, would simply be placed on the skin and forgotten about.

Joseph Cefai, CEO, Starbridge Systems, Wales, UK, said, "It will release diabetics from the need to use syringes and needles, enabling them to continuously infuse insulin. They'll be able to lead a normal life. Not only will the pump be small, cheap and effective, it will also be simple to use. This will be particularly beneficial to people who have developed diabetes in later years - those who are old or have poor sight or mobility. And, because the pump will allow them to accurately control their insulin doses, they will be able to get back to normal life, eating, sleeping and exercising as they wish."

The total number of people around the world with diabetes will go up by about 70% worldwide by the year 2025, according to the International Diabetes Federation.

Over the last twenty years the number of diabetics in the developed world has been increasing at an alarming rate. For the first time ever, we are seeing teenagers developing Type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes does not usually appear until a person is in his/her forties. (Type 1 diabetes is not acquired as a result of lifestyle, the person is born with an inability to produce insulin).

Type 2 diabetes is most commonly the result of overeating, obesity and not enough physical activity. Many people have Type 2 diabetes and do not know they have it.

There are many theories as to why obesity has increased so much in the Western World over the last twenty years. Some say that we eat too many carbohydrates as a percentage of our daily intake of foods. High carb diets raise insulin levels, this leads to many problems and makes us eat more, say many experts. Put in layman terms - if your insulin levels go up, your brain is told not to use stored fat. Therefore, when your meal has been used up you have to eat again, otherwise you have a low sugar episode - you feel tired and drowsy. The higher your carb intake percentage, the more you will binge on them. If you regulate your insulin levels your body will burn the energy you have just eaten and also burn your stored fat.

Barry Sears, creator of a diet called 'The Zone', says we should consume 40% carbs, 30% proteins and 30% fats. He says our carbs should be slow release, our proteins should be lean and our fats should be monounsaturated. The Atkins diet goes for even lower carbs and higher proteins and fats.

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