Science / Medicine : Insulin in Pill, Spray Form Tested

Researchers last week reported progress in finding ways to administer insulin through pills, drinks or nasal spray to help diabetics control their blood-sugar levels more easily and take fewer shots.

While freedom from shots is still thought to be a long way off, researchers on separate projects in Israel, France and England said the experimental insulin treatments may mimic the body’s functions more closely than injections.

Researchers at the Diabetes Research Laboratory in Oxford, England, reported they have developed a nasal spray that appears to deliver insulin without irritating the nose, which had been a problem in previous studies.

The 10 study participants continued to take one daily injection of long-acting insulin, but the spray replaced the multiple shots of short-acting insulin usually taken before meals.

Dr. Rury Holman said the nasal spray appears to provide a quicker, more predictable impact than insulin injections and reduces the need for diabetics to eat snacks to offset the drawn-out effects from injections.