More Information On Inhalable Insulin?

 

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Question: Hi I'm Allie from Austin, Texas. I heard something recently about inhalable insulin. Can you tell me a little bit more about it?

Answer: Allie, I think one of the things that is very intimidating to many people with diabetes as they hear about what is available for therapy is a realization they have to take insulin injections. For people who actually do take insulin, they'll tell you that actually it's not nearly as difficult or problematic as it may seem.

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A study found the new anti-clotting drug Prasugrel worked better than the popular Plavix, but was not without its draw backs.

In recent years some pharmaceutical companies have actually developed a form of insulin that can be inhaled into the lugs. So that certainly has the advantage of avoiding the injections.

It's not really turned out to be a terribly popular approach, in part because the injections themselves are not all that difficult and there is actually some concern by the medical profession as to whether inhaling insulin could cause some lung problems. And as a result of that, even though it's out there it's really not used very much currently.