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Insulin Delivery Surrogates
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16496 |
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Section : |
NATURAL SCIENCE
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| Issue
Date : |
5 / 1989 |
2,679 Words |
| Author
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Gail Finlayson
Gail Finlayson is a free-lance writer specializing in medical
and scientific topics and previously edited Primary Care
Technology. She is based in Westminster, California. |
Whether it is a five-course dinner eaten at the Nouveau Riche Restaurant or a snack consumed at Joe's Pizza Parlor, the food we eat is broken into units of glucose (sugar), amino acid, and fats that flood into our circulatory system. Without proper regulation of the concentration of these basic nutrients in the blood, the delicate parts of the human body-- such as nerves, eyes, and kidneys-- are easily damaged.
One of the key hormones regulating the level of glucose in the blood is insulin, which is secreted by the pancreas. Today, in the United States alone, an estimated 11 million people suffer from some insulin-related abnormality of metabolism. Approximately 6 million of these are afflicted with the most common class of insulin metabolism disease, diabetes mellitus, a long-term disorder that resists all attempts to eradicate it. Diabetes mellitus is characterized by abnormal metabolism of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. It is often accompanied by specific complications in the eyes, heart, kidneys, and nerves.
Seventy years ago, a diagnosis of diabetes was similar to a diagnosis today of cancer. Patients envisioned declining health, organ failure, and premature death. This situation remained unchanged until 1922, when insulin from a pig pancreas was first injected into a diabetic human. Administering insulin to diabetics has increased their life span and alleviated many of the immediate symptoms of their disease. In many cases, however, long-term complications still develop. As a possible means of relieving the long-term complications of diabetes, researchers are striving to improve means of delivering insulin.
In a healthy body, an increase in blood glucose levels-- caused by food intake or by exercise--triggers homeostatic mechanisms that maintain glucose levels within a healthy range. Insulin secretion is one of the key responses in this process. The release of insulin into the blood enhances entry of glucose and amino acids into cells and also suppresses glucose production in the liver.
The most severe type of diabetes mellitus, Type I or insulin dependent, affects approximately 650,000 Americans. These people have lost nearly all means of producing insulin, so their lives are completely dependent on receiving a regular supply of insulin from another source.
Type I diabetes mellitus usually develops before age 20. The disease has no known cure, and no single cause has been identified, although its onset is
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