Health & Fitness
Trials to Better Treat Diabetes Underway in Texas
Trials to find a better way to treat diabetes are taking place under the FDA in several Texas medical research centers.
Clinics in Dallas and San Antonio are working with diabetes innovator Oramed Pharmaceuticals, based in New York, to test an oral form of insulin that could delay or even negate the need for use of needles for many type 2 diabetics.
This is good news for the estimated 2.8 million Texans with diabetes, who make up almost 10 percent of the U.S. diabetic population, said Dr. Douglas Denham, Medical Director and Principal Investigator at San Antonio-based Clinical Trials of Texas, Inc., who is spearheading the local trial.
“Studies show that almost a quarter of Americans are afraid of needles, and this fear could cause many diabetics to skip their needed injections,” Dr. Denham said.
Find out what's happening in Dallasfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
“Non-compliance to diabetes medications is a major cause of hospitalizations and can lead to serious health complications,” he added. “Compliance rates would likely improve if people could take insulin in a capsule form rather than an injection.”
Dr. Denham also points to an environmental benefit of taking capsules over shots: “Imagine how many fewer syringes and needles would be thrown away once oral insulin is a reality.”
Find out what's happening in Dallasfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Oramed’s oral capsule to treat type 2 diabetes promises to be a game changer for the 30 million Americans with diabetes, Dr. Denham said.
According to Oramed CEO Nadav Kidron, Oramed’s technology delivers oral insulin in a way that a needle could never replicate, providing a more efficient and safer platform for delivering insulin by mimicking the body’s natural process of insulin going directly to the liver rather than via the bloodstream. He said that because injections introduce insulin directly into the bloodstream, only a fraction reaches the liver, often causing excess sugar to be stored in fat and muscle which can result in weight gain.
With Oramed’s proprietary platform, the active insulin is protected as it travels through the stomach and into the intestine, and its absorption is increased along the intestinal wall. “The result is better glucose control, reduced hyper and hypoglycemia, and potentially less weight gain – and treatment can begin earlier, improving outcomes,” he said.
Results of the trials – which are also taking place across the country – are expected to be announced in 2019.
