Inhaled insulin for diabetics

People with diabetes might soon be able to throw away their insulin syringes. According to recent research an inhaled form of insulin provides good long-term control of blood sugar levels and patients tend to prefer the treatment to injected insulin.Previous short-term (12-week) studies have demonstrated the efficacy and patient acceptance of inhaled insulin among people with type-1 or type-2 diabetes. Researchers from the Pfizer Global Research and Development, Connecticut, USA, followed 121 participants who participated in a 1-year extension study. Improvements in haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels - a measure of long-term control of blood sugar levels - were similar in subjects who continued taking inhaled insulin, those who switched from injected to inhaled insulin, patients who continued on injected insulin, and people who switched from inhaled to subcutaneous insulin. Episodes of excessively low blood sugar levels were also similar regardless of insulin treatment, according to the researchers.
There had been questions about the effect of inhaled insulin on the lungs, but minimal changes in pulmonary function were the same with inhaled or injected insulin. During the 1-year extension, participants taking inhaled insulin reported significantly greater improvements in overall satisfaction, ease of use, and social comfort a compared to patients on injected insulin.