• Question: Will there ever be another way for diabetics needing insulin to adminster insulin other than injecting themselves?

    Asked by reecejack137 to Ben, Dave, Susana on 27 Jun 2013.
    • Photo: David Briggs

      David Briggs answered on 27 Jun 2013:

      Possibly – there is already a drug called Byetta that is supposed to help Diabetics make more of their own insulin in the right circumstances – my wife is a type II diabetic and she uses Byetta instead of insulin, and this works really well.

      The other possibility is finding a way of repairing the pancreas so you make your own insulin again – stem cell therapy is one possibility here, alothugh we can’t do it just yet.

    • Photo: Susana Teixeira

      Susana Teixeira answered on 27 Jun 2013:

      I just had a look at the diabetes.org.uk page and they warn that it is unlikely an alternative will become available soon in the UK. But there is a lot of hope, there are studies with some success on nasal sprays, tablets and inhalers for example.

      Then of course, like Dave mentioned, there are other scientists going for a more long-term solution: looking for the root of the problem so we will eventually not need insulin. So it’s looking positive!

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