The Daily Orange

Media Credit: Ronna Weyland [Click to enlarge]

For diabetic college students, a hectic schedule can be detrimental to their health. Missing lunch or eating a quick snack could shift blood sugar levels, causing the need for an insulin injection.

A recent research discovery by a Syracuse University chemist could eventually allow diabetics to cut back on the number of injections by just swallowing an insulin pill. And students appear to be open to trying the method one day, so long as it works.

A four-person research team led by Robert Doyle, an assistant professor of chemistry, may be at the ground level of testing a new oral insulin method, but Doyle said he is happy with what the team has discovered so far.

"Our findings back up the work other companies have been doing," Doyle said. "This is good because it lets (us) know (we) are on the right track."

Diabetes is a medical condition in which the body doesn't produce enough insulin, called Type 1, or when the body doesn't process insulin correctly, known as Type 2. The blood sugar levels in individuals cannot be regulated naturally.

Oral treatments as well as inhalers have been ineffective in the past, Doyle said. In January 2006, the Food and Drug Administration approved the Exubera inhaler, which introduced insulin through the alveolar walls of the lungs. The fast-acting insulin method didn't work as well as expected and was pulled from store shelves.

The team's innovation attaches insulin to vitamin B-12, which protects the insulin while passing through the gastrointestinal tract until it reaches the bloodstream. Testing is still being performed on rats and involves finding a method of attaching insulin to the vitamin so that it remains in the bloodstream for at least 12 hours.

This new treatment wouldn't replace insulin injections, Doyle said, but it would help minimize the number of doses needed throughout the day.

Another method of treatment already on the market is the insulin pump.

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