Music

>> My name is Tajal Desi assumed spelling I'm a professor at the University of California San Francisco and I'm using nanotechnology to develop an artificial pancreas.

Music

>> Imagine putting 1 capsule into the body and having it take care of diabetes for you. No more pin pricks. No more insulin injections and it sits there for as long as that patient needs it. The pancreas does many things but one of the most important functions is to regulate the levels of sugar in your body and it does this by secreting insulin. What we do is we take the cells of the pancreas, the ones that secrete insulin and we put them in this tiny capsule which is nano porous. So what that means is they have little holes that are extremely small and those holes allow for the insulin that is released by the cells to come out into the body but they're small enough to keep out all of the things that might attack those cells. So this square device is actually a capsule and it has a central reservoir where you can put millions of cells and the back of the reservoir are the tiny nano pores. This prototype capsule and it's actually 10 times larger than what would be implanted in a human but each of these little rectangles is actually millions of nano pores. We like to think about the capsule as almost like a tea bag. So with a tea bag you put a bag of tea in some hot water and the hot water flows into the tea bag and releases the tea molecules that are sort of sitting inside that netting. The same thing can be said with our capsule but instead we have sugar that comes into the capsule and it alerts those cells that we put inside to secrete insulin. We make these capsules in a clean room because nanotechnology creates devices that are smaller than dust and so if we actually created it in a normal lab we would have dust coming down on our device and actually potentially clogging up the pores. The real benefit of nanotechnology is creating that small pore that can only allow for insulin to go out but doesn't allow for these large immune cells or antibodies to come in. You can't actually do that with anything that's on the large scale.

Music

==== Transcribed by Automatic Sync Technologies ====

Smart People Learn from the best

 
Reply to Story

SmartPlanet TalkbackShare your ideas and expertise on this topic

Subscribe to this discussion via RSS

  •  
    1

    Thomas907

    12/08/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Nanotechnology to end insulin injections for diabetics

    Your video does not work. something is wrong at your end. This is not the first time this happened.

  •  
    2

    rgt501@...

    12/08/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Nanotechnology to end insulin injections for diabetics

    After 42 years of insulin dependent diabetes .... WOW !!! I'm Lovin' It !!!

  •  
    3

    rgt501@...

    12/08/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Nanotechnology to end insulin injections for diabetics

    My question is this? Where do I get in line for the first human trials?

    Russ Tupeck
    Florida, USA

  •  
    4

    barts185-zdnet@...

    12/08/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Nanotechnology to end insulin injections for diabetics

    What is the timeframe for actually having this available?

  •  
    5

    ffhoffman

    12/08/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Nanotechnology to end insulin injections for diabetics

    This is the best news I've had in years. i must take insulin 4 times a day. Fred

  •  
    6

    zeemiller

    12/08/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Nanotechnology to end insulin injections for diabetics

    this would be great. I'm type 1 diabetic and took shots for the first 35 yrs and went on an insulin pump since December 2004 and would love to try this and be one of the patient in the clinic testing when it is available.

  •  
    7

    prom.creatchman@...

    12/08/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Nanotechnology to end insulin injections for diabetics

    Type 2 insulin dependent diabetic-obviously very interested in this new development of insulin delivery-is there a web site where we can track the progress of this process - Stan

  •  
    8

    rufusray@...

    12/08/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Nanotechnology to end insulin injections for diabetics

    i have been on an insulin pump now for 8 years and this is the best thing i have heard since the islet cell implants. i would dearly love to lose this diabetes and be one of the first to try it. any further info please pass it on to me at rufusray@aol.com asap. this looks like exremely great news!

  •  
    9

    possehl

    12/08/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Nanotechnology to end insulin injections for diabetics

    Ray - This is WONDERFUL news. My daughter was diagnosed as a Type 1 diabetic at the age of 9. She is now 29 so I hope this product will be commercially available within her life time. I suggest you contact JDRF (Junior Diabetes Research Foundation). They are VERY active in funding Type 1 research and lobbying Congress re Federal funding for projects like this. Please keep up the good work!!!

  •  
    10

    Daniel X

    12/08/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Nanotechnology to end insulin injections for diabetics

    I have a doubt: how can this device control the quantity of insulin to be delivered to the body?
    I am (really I have been) diabetic for more than 46 years, and I know the high sensibility of my body to the dosis of insulin (the quantity of units that I have to apply every day).
    Could you please tell me where I can get more information?
    Kind regards,
    Daniel Xinos

  •  
    11

    tod.jackson

    12/08/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Nanotechnology to end insulin injections for diabetics

    I am very interested since having Diabetes since 1995 and praying that my 3 year old son won't come down with it anytime soon. Please get providing info and hopefuly the Medical Insurance industry won't say that it is a luxury and not a necessity. Thak you for publishing this.

  •  
    12

    Time_Safari_Master

    12/08/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Nanotechnology to end insulin injections for diabetics

    HOW does one get the video to work?

  •  
    13

    pkosh@...

    12/08/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Nanotechnology to end insulin injections for diabetics

    My 24 yr old son has just been diagnosed with diabeties and this will be such a blessng when it is available on the market. Hope the average person can afford it (I understand insulin pumps can cost ~$8,000.....that's almost a bridge too far).

  •  
    14

    shayne2684

    12/08/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Nanotechnology to end insulin injections for diabetics

    This is quite interesting but what about giving us some idea of how far
    along this research is? Are they going to be testing this in humans
    soon? Is this just theory? So much is not covered.... Please follow up
    with more!

  •  
    15

    mspinler

    12/08/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Nanotechnology to end insulin injections for diabetics

    That is great!!! If this is successful, do you think they could come up with a similar solution for Cystic Fibrosis?

  •  
    16

    Johnc1000

    12/08/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Nanotechnology to end insulin injections for diabetics

    The video works for me with Adobe Flash 10 those of you having problems may need to upgrade.
    The information here is promising but yes, have the human tests begun and how are they going?

  •  
    17

    schwabj@...

    12/08/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Nanotechnology to end insulin injections for diabetics

    It would be great to know the timeline for transplants into humans

  •  
    18

    dfarl@...

    12/08/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Nanotechnology to end insulin injections for diabetics

    i WOULD BE MORE IMPRESSED IF THE STATE OF DEVELOPMENT WAS ADDRESSED. ....sAGTOH

  •  
    19

    hmccurdy

    12/08/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Nanotechnology to end insulin injections for diabetics

    tod.jackson - you might want consider avoiding feeding wheat to your son based on recent research.

    http://www.rhbf.org/2009/09/wheat-disease-trigger-type-1-diabetes.html

    There's other research about genetics. Anyway, some 6 year old, who has DM1, has tested and now would like her snack. Good luck to you.

  •  
    20

    capt.tom@...

    12/08/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Nanotechnology to end insulin injections for diabetics

    RE: Nanotechnology to end insulin injections for diabetics
    My question is this? Where do I get in line for the first human trials? Type 2 insulin dependent diabetic-obviously very interested in this new development of insulin delivery-is there a web site where we can track the progress of this process ?
    Capt Tom Stone

  •  
    21

    pjthomas@...

    12/08/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Nanotechnology to end insulin injections for diabetics

    How do you restock the insulin in the capsule or alternatively how often does the implant have to be replaced?

  •  
    22

    susantayl@...

    12/08/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Nanotechnology to end insulin injections for diabetics

    I wish I had it right now. I wish I was in a test group.

  •  
    23

    tmodel1937@...

    12/08/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Nanotechnology to end insulin injections for diabetics

    We MUST have more information on this article.A time line would also be nice. You can't just raise the hopes of millions of people, and then leave us hanging.
    Please!

  •  
    24

    ColdWinterWind

    12/08/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Nanotechnology to end insulin injections for diabetics

    Woohoo!!

    Where's the line start?

  •  
    25

    RebeccaAS

    12/08/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Nanotechnology to end insulin injections for diabetics

    I think this has great potential. My daughter is currently on an insulin pump after dealing with 6-8 shots per day for Type 1 diabetes. My question would be this....what would be the chance of the body encapsulating the "capsule"? Typically, when there is any type of foreign body inside the human body, the immune system will encapsulate the area. I understand that the nanopores will prevent the immune system from attacking the insulin producing cells, but how do we prevent the body from encapsulating the "capsule"?

  •  
    26

    johnwintx

    12/08/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Nanotechnology to end insulin injections for diabetics

    Unfortunately, there are companies that produce insulin and those that make syringes and alcohol swabs; and, together, they can buy out the patents on the good doctor's device and keep it off the market.

  •  
    27

    williambill6@...

    12/08/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Nanotechnology to end insulin injections for diabetics

    As a longtime diabetic, I want to get in line for the fist human tests/trials.

  •  
    28

    garywainright@...

    12/08/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Nanotechnology to end insulin injections for diabetics

    Does this work for type 2 diabetes, or only Type 1? Do they get the cells from cadavers? Can they be produced from stem cells? How long will one of these capsules work? Do the cells reproduce themselves? On what do the cells feed? Is it sugar? When will this therapy be generally available?

  •  
    29

    wmckenna@...

    12/08/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Nanotechnology to end insulin injections for diabetics

    Best news I've heard in a long time. Right now, one of my insulins will be discontinued, I'm alergic to the one most similar to the discontinued one, and the one remaining possibility is available only in disposable pens which do not deliver half-unit doses. I hope you will keep everyone updated on this exciting possibility.

  •  
    30

    csmindallas

    12/08/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Nanotechnology to end insulin injections for diabetics

    OH WOW!!!

    But what about what people REALLY want to know?
    How about some information on clinical trials? About how many years until this is available?

  •  
    31

    suchitkasim

    12/08/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Nanotechnology to end insulin injections for diabetics

    Tea BAG!

  •  
    32

    badger53

    12/08/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Nanotechnology to end insulin injections for diabetics

    Sounds real good... Where do i sign up....
    more info...........more info...more info

  •  
    33

    rahartley@...

    12/08/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Nanotechnology to end insulin injections for diabetics

    Fax: 415-514-4503. Fax Lab: 415-476-2414. Email: Tejal.desai@ucsf.edu ... Desai Laboratory 1700 4th Street | Building QB3 | Room 204 Box 2520
    I really don't know if I would try to call the lab, but you can send emails !
    Do some searches for your self ! This came up on the first page on Google !!

  •  
    34

    jrg@...

    12/08/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Nanotechnology to end insulin injections for diabetics

    I'm sure the FDA will slow the development of this down for
    years. Europe will see it much sooner.

  •  
    35

    vyen

    12/08/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Nanotechnology to end insulin injections for diabetics

    What a splendid bit of news. After 30 years of medication and progressing on to insulin injections where and how do I make contact with the appropriate people to see if I may be a candidate for this nanotechnology implant.

  •  
    36

    germanlr

    12/08/09 | Report as spam

    Lenora German

    I am crying...! CRYING! AMEN!

  •  
    37

    twostep

    12/08/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Nanotechnology to end insulin injections for diabetics

    Your video works perfectly for me. This is not the first time this happened.

  •  
    38

    Phares

    12/08/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Nanotechnology to end insulin injections for diabetics

    I am a diabetic since 1987. Sounds like good news! I have to take pills and insulin.

  •  
    39

    ccattani@...

    12/08/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Nanotechnology to end insulin injections for diabetics

    I am the father of a 12 yo boy that has type I diabetes since he was
    3 yo. Every year, every month, every week, every day, I pray for
    cure, but maybe this is the first time I'm really optimistc.
    Hoprfully the cure will be available for everybody and not just for
    those who can afford to spend thousands of dollars to get cured. I
    live in Ecuador, Soth America, and I've seen children die because
    they don't have $40 a month which will help them have a minimum
    access to medical care to trat their diabetes. Go on professor with
    your research and I'll be parying for you and your team !

    Carlos Cattani
    Quito, Ecuador
    ccattani67@hotmail.com

  •  
    40

    chaswin50@...

    12/08/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Nanotechnology to end insulin injections for diabetics

    NOW THAT'S A CHRISTMAS PRESENT.

  •  
    41

    swganc

    12/08/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Nanotechnology to end insulin injections for diabetics

    Mrs.Tejal Desai, I also am a insulin dependent person.Like all the other people I also would like to know how long in the future this could take? And where do the cells come from that you put in the capsule? I want to know more.Please do another segment on more details about this article on how much the treatment will cost and if there will be human trials any time soon.God Bless people like you. I pray this can become a reality. You give me hope, Dina in Georgia

  •  
    42

    hutchida03

    12/09/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Nanotechnology to end insulin injections for diabetics

    I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes 7 years ago and had to take injections with every meal. 2 years later i was given the insulin pump. You should ask your GP's if it's possible for you to get one.

  •  
    43

    medicalmerciless

    12/09/09 | Report as spam

    "Medical Merciless," Entities that sacrifice human life for growth & profit

    Who?
    Medical Merciless spend millions of dollars each year to combat the avaibility of medical cures that save human lives.

    What?
    The cure for diabetes and other seroius medical conditions.

    When?
    Yesterday. The cure is overdue.

    Where?
    America is a democracy. "A political system in which the supreme power lies in a body of citizens who can elect people to represent them." Ask yousef did your elected official make a cure for diabetes available to you? If not, then ask yoursef is that the type of the person you wanted elected to represent you? Then fight. America is the place, and your elected politicians are the targets.

    Why?
    Their motive? Growth and profit.

    How?
    Politicians have the power to speed up and slow down medical cures. The only way to give birth to a new cure that is readily AVAILABLE is to hold our elected officials accountable. You have to demand nothing less than a cure or else (end of story).

    In conclusion Dr. Desai pancreatic implant is only a theory. It means nothing for those who need a cure NOW! It means absolutely nothing for those who are suffering now and those who will die over the next several years.

    If an unforseen amount of people showed up at the front gates of the white house and demanded nothing less than a cure, we'd have by now. Waging a war against medical merciless that generates upwards of 7 billion dollars/year is a war already lost. However, taking back what was already rightfully yours is a war that was already won.

    In memory of Lebetha

  •  
    44

    Randolph C

    12/09/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Nanotechnology to end insulin injections for diabetics

    My 17 year old son has Type 1 DM. As soon as your technology is approved for implantation I would love him to be in your trials! How can this be done?

    Randy

  •  
    45

    t.leonard

    12/09/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Nanotechnology to end insulin injections for diabetics

    I am Insulan dependant just yet, but will have to be shortly how do i get the inplant and how much would it cost........t.leonard@upcmail.ie

  •  
    46

    duxy4

    12/09/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Nanotechnology to end insulin injections for diabetics

    It sounds promising. Hopefully trials will begin soon.

  •  
    47

    theromancier@...

    12/09/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Nanotechnology to end insulin injections for diabetics

    I have been researching the diferent strides in the advances for the cure of diabetes and this sounds great. I was diagnosed with diabetes in 1999 and have had many up and downs trying to maintain a good bloodsugar level. I read about the isolets and wanted to be a part of the testing, but it already had it's test subjects. Please, consider me for the human test phase for this. I want my life and living back. alvinomitchell@attentionjunky.com

  •  
    48

    Carolyn Field

    12/09/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Nanotechnology to end insulin injections for diabetics

    Hello! My son is 17 and he was diagnosed with diabetes type 1 a couple of months ago. His father was diabetic also...I am very happy with the news! We live in Cali, Colombia S.A. and I wonder how long it would take for it to get here? Congratulations on your discovery and thank you for your dedication and hard work! It will definitely benefit more then 1000's! I would like to learn more please write me at: fieldcarolyn@hotmail.com

  •  
    49

    mer_storrie

    12/09/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Nanotechnology to end insulin injections for diabetics

    I have been living with Type 1 diabetes for 20 years now. I was diagnosed when I was 6 years old and have been injecting insulin ever since at least 4 times a day. I tried the insulin pump and did not have great success with it. I would defintiely be interested in being a part of the testing trials of this nanotechnology. It seems like it is too good to be true! If any further information is available, please forward it to mer_storrie@yahoo.com.

    Thank you!

  •  
    50

    Rick S._z

    12/09/09 | Report as spam

    SOLUTION FOR "CAN'T PLAY THE VIDEO" PROBLEMS

    smartplanet.com is a zdnet site, and their coding uses vast quantities of really dumb cross-site links. Modern browsers and security add-ons will refuse to "follow" many of these links, because they constitute a horrible security risk...

    In the case of the video, the site which you must explicitly allow is "i.bnet.com". Somewhere on your browser screen, or options, or add-ons, you should see a pop-up that gives you the opportunity to treat "i.bet.com" as a secure site. After you do that, the video will play fine.

    Hey zdnet: Don't you know anything about internet security? These problems, at the user's end, can all be avoided by using MOD_REWRITE on your hosts.

  •  
    51

    Rick S._z

    12/09/09 | Report as spam

    FOR EVERYONE WHO WANTS TO "SPAM" THE RESEARCHERS....

    There are some wonderful replies here, especially possehl's pointer to JDRF.

    But those of you asking how to email the researchers, to become trial participants- PLEASE, PLEASE, DON'T !!!

    First, you waste time and money by spamming them. You keep them them from their work, and waste a lot of their funding by making SOMEONE answers a lot of emails with polite answers along the lines of "no, we're not ready yet, thanks for your interest, we'll certainly keep you on a list". And they DO have to keep you on a list, that wastes money too.

    And second, it's in San Francisco. That's a big metropolitan area, they've got plenty of local T1s and T2s to match any participant profile they need. Unlike most of you, THOSE people can get to UCSF with about 40 minutes notice. Heck, they've probably got enough qualified students and faculty PWDs right on campus to create any study they need, with the sole exception being a study which requires T1s diagnosed less than 4 weeks before.

    Contribute to JDRF; talk up the research in local media; get active in politics; but otherwise, just stay the heck out the way. PLEASE.

    (I am not involved in this research, but I know how it works. They need publicity and funding, do not ask to be a trial participant before they publicly ask for people to apply, with a list of requirements which you match perfectly.)

    Thank you all for reading. I agree, this would be awesome! BTW, I have answer for Daniel X (reply number 10): Beta cells respond directly to blood glucose levels. In the body, they function as both the "measuring technology" AND the creator of insulin in response.

  •  
    52

    Rick S._z

    12/09/09 | Report as spam

    One more answer to questions posed in replies...

    RebeccasAS, in post #25, asked a really smart question, and the answer also deals with garywainright's questions in post #28.

    Here's how it will work, if it works: Because the nano-gaps are so small, the antigen-sensing T-cells cannot recognize the Beta cells as "foreign". The recognition portion of the T-cell is simply too large to fit in and match up. This directly disables the effectiveness of the CytoToxic CD8-T cells. (These are the ones which which immediately attach to recognized cells, killing them directly, when they aren't properly supressed as being "Self".) This is the first problem in auto-immune diseases, including T1, and in all kinds of transplant rejection.

    But it also disables the Helper-T cells. Those are the ones which direct the creation of antibodies by B-cell lymphocytes. B cells are the ones which create antibodies. But if they're left "naive", never told by Helper T-cells to create antibodies against a specific antigen-- no antibodies.

    If the nano-pores are so small that even the recognition fails, then you could use cells from just about anywhere-- although human islets would obviously be MUCH less likely to excrete other proteins which "smell bad", as a result of living biology, than GMO'd microbes.

    But that's not what the smartplanet summary says-- instead, it says that there's no exposed proteins which allow antibodies to stick. So maybe some level of recognition still occurs, but the effectiveness of the body's attack is vastly reduced. Once there's recognition, then the lifespan could be limited-- but these could be also be replaced when they became ineffective. They'd almost certainly last longer than most of today's transplants, working without extreme immuno-supressive therapy, and the insertion surgery would be VASTLY less dangerous and expensive.

    Sounds great!

  •  
    53

    aevans308@...

    12/09/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Nanotechnology to end insulin injections for diabetics

    This is the most promising research that I have ever heard about! I would get in line for an implant right now - 22 years of Type 1 diabetes and using an insulin pump for the last 5.

  •  
    54

    jlw2135@...

    12/09/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Nanotechnology to end insulin injections for diabetics

    great idea, but how often do these implants have to be replaced.....

    and what are the side effects of these modern medical miracles.......

    just the same if they work then more power to those who can and should use them..

  •  
    55

    ojax3000

    12/10/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Nanotechnology to end insulin injections for diabetics

    Wow!!! where can I sign up to be in the trial study? where can we go to get more info on this. THIS IS HUGE, if it lives up to it's promise....

  •  
    56

    gkiefferjfk2@...

    12/11/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Nanotechnology to end insulin injections for diabetics

    Sign mer up for a TEST TRIAL. Have Klienfelters Syndrome and have been diabetic since 1998.
    HAVE signed up with KS&A to partake in diabetes research subject[they are based in NYC]

    I HAVE TYPE 2 DIABETES = currently take SOLOSTAR PEN [24 insolin shot] & 4 hr fast acting insolin before i eat anything.

  •  
    57

    Klif

    12/11/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Nanotechnology to end insulin injections for diabetics

    Thank you for the best news of this year 2009.

    Khelifa
    Algeria

  •  
    58

    smartplanetvideoteam

    12/11/09 | Report as spam

    Answer to some of your questions

    According to Tejal Desai

    1) If all goes well, it will be tested on patients in three to five years.

    2) This should be applicable to both types, I and II. It could be used by anyone who requires insulin injections.

    Thanks, Team at SmartPlanet video

  •  
    59

    tonmiester@...

    12/13/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Nanotechnology to end insulin injections for diabetics

    I am a number 2 diabetic if this would help me I think it would be great.

  •  
    60

    billtupper@...

    12/14/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Nanotechnology to end insulin injections for diabetics

    I was diagnosed as Type I 25 years ago. At the time, the
    experts said it would be cured in 10 -15 years. I never
    considered the business aspect but one day I did and I realized
    diabetes will never be cured. Never. As a controlled disease, it
    lines the pocket of Novartis and Eli Lily and BD and Minimed
    and Johnson & Johnson. They just make direct diabetes
    supplies lest we forget the manufacturers of Avapro or Avastin
    or Viagra.

    The economy surrounding diabetes won't allow a cure. It is big
    business. Billions and billions of dollars. Life and, literally, limb
    have no consequence.

    It does sound wonderful.

    Who Killed the Electric Car? Maybe the next flick should be Who
    Killed the Cure?

  •  
    61

    jensmobil@...

    12/14/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Nanotechnology to end insulin injections for diabetics

    I have been a Type I for most of my life. I have been on a pump for the past eleven years. If this technology is to be available to those like me, protection needs to happen so it does not get bought and shelved! I was in a clinical trial for non-invasive gluco-meter. It worked perfect! That was ten years ago. No finger sticks or blood and it was accurate. But the company was bought and never brought to market because the present testing methods would lose 50 cents a strip at 4 to 8 strips a day at 10 million diabetics. Too much money not going into their pockets! The JDRF not only needs research but now and more importantly needs lobbyists to fight for the cure that is probably already out there but bought up by the greedy pharmaceutical companies. 30 Years ago I too was told a cure was just around the corner. But greed rules the world!

  •  
    62

    foujan

    12/14/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Nanotechnology to end insulin injections for diabetics

    This is just wonderful! My 12 year old daughter was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes about 4 years ago.

    How do we find more about this technology? Where do we look? Is there a human trail today?

  •  
    63

    msuper69

    12/15/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Nanotechnology to end insulin injections for diabetics

    billtupper

    If there is a big conspiracy among the drug companies, then why
    does Eli Lilly provide free insulin for patients w/o health
    insurance?

  •  
    64

    Manabozho

    12/15/09 | Report as spam

    Islet cell implants--very tricky stuff

    Great news, as far as it goes, but that's not really very far.

    I'm Type 1 diabetic for 20 years, spent 30 years in pharma research in controlled-delivery, including insulin. So, I have multiple views of this problem. It's likely a long way off, though I'd take somebody's bet whether Europe gets it first. They simply are not better than the US at innovation, sorry.

    Implanted islet cells are foreign cells, so they have to be protected from the patient's antibodies. Since the antibody cells are bigger than the insulin molecule, a "screen size" is possible that allows insulin out, but doesn't allow antibodies in. This idea was implemented in the early 1990's, with a peritoneal implant of islet cells inside a screen. The doctor who developed it said he'd been working on it since 1967, but predicted it would be a commercial product within a couple years. Anybody remember seeing that product?? Nope, you sure didn't.

    I have seen so many demos of prototypes over the years, which never became products, that I encourage all the painfully sincere diabetics reading this not to get too impatient. Life with insulin pumps and injectables is no fun--I know, I live it. But you're not doing yourself a favor by spinning yourself up over something that's almost certainly years off from any commercial realization. No mention of animal studies, no mention of whether they have submitted an IND (investigatory new drug) ap to FDA, certainly no mention of the step after that, which is an NDA (new drug or device) application, with human trial data, etc. This is a long process and this 'biological-embedded-in-a-device' has a very complex set of failure modes that have to be solved down to a level acceptable to FDA.

  •  
    65

    MarCad Class 1462

    12/15/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Nanotechnology to end insulin injections for diabetics

    Fantastic news. I understand the excitement of so many individuals worldwide of all ages with diabetes, including me, that this gifted scientist and her team have created. However, I also understand the long journey that still lies ahead of them to finish the trip. Congrationualtions on your work and please continue giving the rest of humanity hope for a cure.
    Warmest regards,
    Bob Martinez Jr.

  •  
    66

    ECGonzalez

    12/15/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Nanotechnology to end insulin injections for diabetics

    Everybody already said it: When? Where? How can I find out more? My husband has been type I for more than 20 yrs. Unfortunately, we've heard so many promising things before, then they just disappear. I don't even know if I want to share this with him because I'm afraid that's what it will come to.
    He would gladly do a trial.

  •  
    67

    skafbd

    12/15/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Nanotechnology to end insulin injections for diabetics

    Great News for people who are diabetics. But what about the cost of this ? Will it be affordable ? And how much time the technology will take to get into the market ?

  •  
    68

    cloudsrider@...

    12/22/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Nanotechnology to end insulin injections for diabetics

    You can try this site out!

    http://www.tudiabetes.org/video/nanotechnology-to-end-insulin?xg_source=activity

  •  
    69

    uptohere

    12/22/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Nanotechnology to end insulin injections for diabetics

    Thank God for Tejal Desai and her team! This is amazing news. Nano is the future, folks!

  •  
    70

    arsathish

    12/24/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Nanotechnology to end insulin injections for diabetics

    I wish a very best to your team and hope this product reaches millions
    and change their lives. My father died due to diabetes and I am on pre-
    diabetic list. Your research is very promising.

    -Sathish

  •  
    71

    D.Barber

    02/23/10 | Report as spam

    RE: Nanotechnology to end insulin injections for diabetics

    I have been type 1 diabetic for 31 years now, requiring several injections a day to control my blood sugar. I just hope this is not another one of those 'lets get all excited about something that will never happen' deals... again. If it isn't, where do I sign up!?

  •  
    72

    hasanria@...

    03/08/10 | Report as spam

    RE: Nanotechnology to end insulin injections for diabetics

    WOuld be very interested to know the time-frame of availability, in our life time? I am 50 years old and would be interested.

The following tags are supported in Smartplanet comments:
<b></b> <i></i> <u></u> <pre></pre>

Leave a Reply
  1. Name: You are currently: a Guest |
advertisement

Quick Poll

advertisement

Active SmartPlanet

Blog Roll

About SmartPlanet | | Newsletters