For tens of millions of diabetics who use insulin to help balance their sugar levels, there might be some wonderful news on the horizon.
Every diabetic using insulin must test his/her blood sugar and some have to test it often. Advances in that technology have been made, but the actual treatment of self administration of insulin with syringes hasn’t changed since its onset of usage as a treatment, until possibly now.
This is because insulin is a large molecule and not absorbed through the skin to any significant degree.
The dream has been to find a way to prevent the illness but failing that, to find a far more convenient method of taking the insulin.
Enter Fuse Science. They have invented a technology to encapsulate the insulin (and other compounds) and when applied to the skin as a roll on, deliver these medicines at a constant rate through the skin to the person, proven by a study. This will make the $3 billion patch industry obsolete.
"Today's scientific results indicate that Fuse Science possesses capabilities to deliver over 80% of all molecular structures with our proprietary technology through the epidermis to the blood stream," said Brian Tuffin, Fuse Science, Inc. CEO. "This opens the door for making the $3.0 billion dollar patch business obsolete and completely redefining the injectable and consumable delivery market. Of largest benefit is the present ability of Fuse Science to deliver Insulin in this roll-on form. We see this as the first step in replacing the need for daily injections by diabetic sufferers around the world." - Brian Tuffin, Fuse Science, Inc. CEO
This is a potentially great advance, but I can see a few potential problems with it: If the area of skin where it’s applied is covered by clothing (of various fiber types), will that alter absorbtion? If applied on an uncovered area of skin and another person touches it, will that person also get the insulin? If the area is scraped, will some or all of the insulin be lost? Will exposure to rain, sunlight or various temperatures alter absorbtion? If exposed to water, will it “run”? These are important questions and considerations.
Patches (imperfect at best) at least isolate the drug to the user while on the skin.
So it exists, and might eventually make it to market. However, it will be some time before this happens, and there might be some hurdles before it does.
Source:
http://www.sacbee.com/2012/10/22/4929144/fuse-science-inc-breaks-code-on.html
http://ir.stockpr.com/fusescience/company-news/detail/693/fuse-science-inc-breaks-code-on-patchless-insulin-delivery-with-simple-roll-on
Sweet!! Um....no pun intended...
I am a diabetic and I hate giving myself shots. It just gets old.
My most recent A1C was 13.....ouch!!
I need to do better.
I didn't know about the patches.
Good news for diabetics.
Welcome technology, I'm sure. I wonder how the metering system would work with a roll-on application though.
This new technology might be useful for extremely needle-phobic people or small kids or other niche applications, but the main advantage of a pump is that it adapts its dosage to your food intake (instead of the other way around), and this patch can't do that. Now, pumps aren't cheap, but they last basically forever and are a one-shot investment, while this thing is probably going to be expensive for a while yet and you need to keep buying more.
That's not to say the delivery technology is useless, it's just that there are a lot better applications for it than insulin delivery.
Turn off the computer. Start walking twice a day outside. Decrease the carbs (sugars and starches). "Test, and test frequently." - W. Brimley.
There are no insulin patches. There are for other medicines. A roll on method will eliminate them, but only if the limitations I mentioned can be overcome.
There are much more modern methods of testing being developed (implants and the like). Otherwise, by pricking the side of the finger or forearm which are the current methods.
Scoutdog, I deliberately kept it simple. Essentially though, the pump is an indwelling 'syringe' (to get the insulin past the skin), with a highly sophisticated "plunger".
Insulin pumps are excellent, and the roll on probably won't replace them since after application, it would not be responsive to varying glucose levels nor the food intake. I still consider the pump one of the best methods of control, however, it is not well suited for the majority of diabetics. The roll on would be more akin to "Super Lente" - if you remember that. Of course, I expect the type of insulin in the roll on to be adjustable (ultra rapid, etc.) as time goes on.
I'm really happy to hear that HgbA1C level! Good work!!!
Honey! That's not the deodorant!
Thanks for the thread Doc, I've passed it on to a close friend who is a diabetic.
I wasn't referring to blood sugar level testing. I mean dosage amounts. How would that be measured, inches, swipes, roller ball revolution count, etc.? I don't see an accurate way to gauge how much is being applied by this method.
Test, roll, retest, oops, too much. I don't know.
The roll could be calibrated with a locking mechanism so more couldn't be applied for a certain amount of time.
Also, I haven't seen the device... it might not look like a traditional 'ban' type roll on, Wiz... I'd actually be surprised if it did. The company didn't reveal much, only this: https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=http://fusescience.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Summary-In-Vitro-Study.pdf&chrome=true
As I said, it'll be some time before this gets close to the market.
Very intriguing. Especially as such methods would apply to certain settings such as geriatrics/hospice. With current injection technology, however, the roll-on method would have to be really, really inexpensive to displace shots I would think. The efficiency of absorption through the skin is also widely variable depending on age and other factors. That said, the next decade should be very interesting.*
*Assuming there is a next decade - Dick Clark did die, you know.
I'm hopeful we will have more good experiences.
I agree, Daiwa... there are a lot of factors that haven't been figured in. You'd think that geriatric skin, with little subcutaneous fat tissue might absorb differently... perhaps not. I don't believe the testing has gone anywhere near that far... it's all been in vitro so far. It's also not clear to me whether that 'epidermis' was viable or a membrane... sketchy so far.
Diabetes is a frightening, terrible disease, a threat for all us overweight geeks lurking in the future. The omnipresent high glucose-fructose syrup hidden in most processed food today does not help at all. I think this substance has killed and ruined more people than all illegal drugs and terrorists combined.
Certain transdermals become less & less well-absorbed as the subq fat disappears from progressive weight loss/inanition. Fentanyl in particular is very poorly absorbed in cachectic patients.
On a side note, the incidence of type 2 diabetes in the US is about 6.5%, or roughly 1 in 16.
And, it is on the increase.
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