SCIENCE / MEDICINE : New Insulins Developed

Scientists say they have developed forms of insulin that are absorbed more quickly after injection than current versions, holding promise of better treatment for diabetics.

Experiments in pigs showed the new forms are absorbed two to three times faster after injection than current rapid-acting insulins, researchers said.

That means they can better match the rapid rise in bloodstream concentrations that non-diabetics get in response to eating a meal, researchers from Denmark and Britain wrote in Thursday’s issue of the British journal Nature.

The work already has led to improved control of blood sugar levels in some diabetics, but the new insulins must be studied for possible side effects before their usefulness can be established, the scientists said. To develop the new forms, researchers altered tiny portions of the standard insulin molecule to prevent molecules from clumping together.