Skin patch gives hope for diabetics
A team of University of KwaZulu-Natal researchers, led by principal investigator Professor Cephas Musabayane, at the back, have discovered a new method to administer insulin into the bloodstream through a skin patch. With him are his PhD students, from left, Happiness Sibiya, Silindile Hadebe and Phikelelani Ngubane. A team of University of KwaZulu-Natal researchers, led by principal investigator Professor Cephas Musabayane, at the back, have discovered a new method to administer insulin into the bloodstream through a skin patch. With him are his PhD students, from left, Happiness Sibiya, Silindile Hadebe and Phikelelani Ngubane.
Durban -
Scientists from the University of KwaZulu-Natal are a step closer to making it easier for diabetics by developing a skin patch that delivers insulin into the bloodstream.
The researchers, led by Professor Cephas Musabayane, believe they are paving the way for diabetics to be free from daily injections, with fewer side-effects.
The findings of Musabayane and his PhD students came as they were conducting a study to establish whether applying a dermal patch containing insulin could sustain the controlled release of insulin into the bloodstream of diabetic rats, and alleviate some of the symptoms.
The team found that after five weeks of daily treatment with the patches, the skin of the animals did not show inflammation or necrosis.
“The findings are of considerable importance because application of insulin-containing dermal patches would not only free diabetic patients from daily (large dosage) injections needed to maintain a constant insulin concentration, but also provide pain-free self-administration of insulin for patients, and probably improve compliance,” Musabayane explained.
“However, we need to be realistic in our expectations and this study is just the first step in a long line of development,” he added.
“It is envisaged that the required preliminary laboratory and animal work will take two years to complete before human clinical trials can commence. The human clinical trials will need to be done in conjunction with a pharmaceutical company who will eventually manufacture and market the product under licence,” Musabayane said.
The new study builds on the work done in 2010 by Musabayane and another UKZN academic, Mark Tufts.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), there are nearly 350 million people living with diabetes across the globe. More than 80 percent of deaths related to diabetes occur in low- and middle-income countries, and it predicts that diabetes will be the seventh leading cause of death in 2030.
It defines diabetes as occurring when the pancreas does not produce enough insulin (the hormone that regulates blood sugar), or the body cannot effectively use the insulin it produces.
Type one diabetes is typically characterised by poor insulin production in the body, and the symptoms include weight loss, fatigue, and an excessive need to urinate.
Type two diabetes is a result of the body not using insulin effectively (largely from being overweight and inactive).
The Mercury