Researchers at the Technion Israel Institute of Technology have revealed a potentially groundbreaking device that regulates insulin inside the bodies of people with diabetes.
The cell-based implant acts as an “autonomous artificial pancreas”, according to Technion.
This means that it regulates blood glucose levels by releasing exactly the amount of insulin required by the human, without needing any external intervention from the patient or otherwise.
The crucial development that makes this possible is an innovative protective technology, which the researchers call a “crystalline shield” and which essentially stops the patient’s immune system from rejecting the implanted cells.
The issue of immune system rejection of cell-based treatments has been an obstacle in similar research for decades. If this technology proves successful, it could also benefit various other chronic conditions requiring biologic therapies, such as haemophilia.
Currently, the implant has only been tested on mice and non-human primates. Positive results in both provide the basis for moving on to clinical trials in humans.
The research team in Israel is led by Assistant Professor Shady Farah, who described the implant as “a factory for manufacturing drugs inside the body”.
Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Johns Hopkins University, and the University of Massachusetts are among the American collaborators on the project.
Such a breakthrough could be a game-changer for some 200 million people worldwide who live with diabetes.
Currently, those with the condition must inject insulin up to five times daily, and do so via various means, including insulin pumps, delivery pens, and needles.
Insulin also does not come cheaply. In the US, for instance, injectable insulin can range anywhere from $25-$300 per vial, and a patient may require as many as six vials per month, per the World Population Review.
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