Researchers develop an injectable that can prevent blood sugar drops in diabetics
A new injectable solution to prevent and treat hypoglycemic conditions in people with diabetes. The study was published in the journal ACS Central Science.
Hypoglycemia is a condition in which blood sugar levels fall below normal, usually below 70 mg/dL. The condition is more common in people with diabetes who use insulin or other medications to lower blood sugar. Symptoms of the condition include shaking, sweating, dizziness, confusion, and, in severe cases, seizures or loss of consciousness.
Causes of hypoglycemia could be skipping meals, excessive physical activity, or taking too many diabetes medications. The immediate treatment for hypoglycemia is to consume fast-acting carbohydrates such as juice or glucose tablets. If left untreated, hypoglycemia can be life-threatening; Therefore, it is important to monitor blood sugar levels and monitor them carefully to prevent episodes.
According to the team, if glucose levels fall too low, people can experience hypoglycemia, which can lead to dizziness, cognitive impairment, seizures or coma.
Researchers report that it encapsulates the hormone glucagon. Glucagon is a hormone that tells the liver to release glucose into the bloodstream. It is usually given by injection to counteract severe hypoglycemia in people with diabetes. While an emergency injection of glucagon can correct blood sugar levels in about 30 minutes, the formulations can be unstable and insoluble in water. In some cases, the hormone breaks down quickly when mixed for injections and clumps together to form toxic fibrils. Additionally, many episodes of hypoglycemia occur at night, when people with diabetes are unlikely to check their blood sugar.
To improve the stability of glucagon and prevent hypoglycemia, Andrea Hevener and Heather Maynard turned to micelles: nanoscale soap-like bubbles that can be customized to assemble or disassemble in different environments and are used for drug delivery.
They developed a glucose-sensitive micelle that encapsulates and protects glucagon in the bloodstream when sugar levels are normal, but dissolves if levels drop dangerously low.
To prevent hypoglycemia, micelles could be injected in advance and circulate in the bloodstream until needed. In mouse trials, the nanocapsules activated when blood sugar levels dropped dangerously low and quickly restored glucose levels.
In laboratory experiments, the researchers observed that micelles disassembled only in liquid environments that mimicked hypoglycemic conditions in both the human and mouse bodies: less than 60 milligrams of glucose per deciliter.
Then, when mice experiencing insulin-induced hypoglycemia received an injection of specialized micelles, they achieved normal blood sugar levels within 40 minutes.
From additional toxicity and biosafety studies in mice, the researchers note that the empty micelles did not trigger an immune response or induce organ damage.
The researchers said: “While more studies are needed, the researchers say their proof of concept is a first step toward a new effective, on-demand method to prevent or mitigate extremely low blood sugar levels.”
(With contributions from agencies)
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