Medical Dialogues
  • Dermatology
Login Register
This site is intended for healthcare professionals only
Login Register
  • MD Brand Connect
  • Vaccine Hub
  • MDTV
    • Breaking News
    • Medical News Today
    • Health News Today
    • Latest
    • Journal Club
    • Medico Legal Update
    • Latest Webinars
    • MD Shorts
    • Health Dialogues
  • Fact Check
  • Health Dialogues
Medical Dialogues
  • Medical News & Guidelines
      • Anesthesiology
      • Cardiology and CTVS
      • Critical Care
      • Dentistry
      • Dermatology
      • Diabetes and Endocrinology
      • ENT
      • Gastroenterology
      • Medicine
      • Nephrology
      • Neurology
      • Obstretics-Gynaecology
      • Oncology
      • Ophthalmology
      • Orthopaedics
      • Pediatrics-Neonatology
      • Psychiatry
      • Pulmonology
      • Radiology
      • Surgery
      • Urology
      • Laboratory Medicine
      • Diet
      • Nursing
      • Paramedical
      • Physiotherapy
  • Health news
      • Doctor News
      • Government Policies
      • Hospital & Diagnostics
      • International Health News
      • Medical Organization News
      • Medico Legal News
      • NBE News
      • NMC News
  • Fact Check
      • Bone Health Fact Check
      • Brain Health Fact Check
      • Cancer Related Fact Check
      • Child Care Fact Check
      • Dental and oral health fact check
      • Diabetes and metabolic health fact check
      • Diet and Nutrition Fact Check
      • Eye and ENT Care Fact Check
      • Fitness fact check
      • Gut health fact check
      • Heart health fact check
      • Kidney health fact check
      • Medical education fact check
      • Men's health fact check
      • Respiratory fact check
      • Skin and hair care fact check
      • Vaccine and Immunization fact check
      • Women's health fact check
  • AYUSH
    • Ayurveda
    • Homeopathy
    • Siddha
    • Unani
    • Yoga
  • State News
      • Andaman and Nicobar Islands
      • Andhra Pradesh
      • Arunachal Pradesh
      • Assam
      • Bihar
      • Chandigarh
      • Chattisgarh
      • Dadra and Nagar Haveli
      • Daman and Diu
      • Delhi
      • Goa
      • Gujarat
      • Haryana
      • Himachal Pradesh
      • Jammu & Kashmir
      • Jharkhand
      • Karnataka
      • Kerala
      • Ladakh
      • Lakshadweep
      • Madhya Pradesh
      • Maharashtra
      • Manipur
      • Meghalaya
      • Mizoram
      • Nagaland
      • Odisha
      • Puducherry
      • Punjab
      • Rajasthan
      • Sikkim
      • Tamil Nadu
      • Telangana
      • Tripura
      • Uttar Pradesh
      • Uttrakhand
      • West Bengal
  • Medical Education
      • Ayush Education News
      • Dentistry Education News
      • Medical Admission News
      • Medical Colleges News
      • Medical Courses News
      • Medical Universities News
      • Nursing education News
      • Paramedical Education News
      • Study Abroad
  • Industry
      • Health Investment News
      • Health Startup News
      • Medical Devices News
      • Pharma News
      • Pharmacy Education News
      • Industry Perspective
  • MDTV
      • Health Dialogues MDTV
      • Health News today MDTV
      • Latest Videos MDTV
      • Latest Webinars MDTV
      • MD shorts MDTV
      • Medical News Today MDTV
      • Medico Legal Update MDTV
      • Top Videos MDTV
      • Health Perspectives MDTV
      • Journal Club MDTV
      • Medical Dialogues Show
This site is intended for healthcare professionals only
LoginRegister
Medical Dialogues
LoginRegister
  • Home
  • Medical news & Guidelines
    • Anesthesiology
    • Cardiology and CTVS
    • Critical Care
    • Dentistry
    • Dermatology
    • Diabetes and Endocrinology
    • ENT
    • Gastroenterology
    • Medicine
    • Nephrology
    • Neurology
    • Obstretics-Gynaecology
    • Oncology
    • Ophthalmology
    • Orthopaedics
    • Pediatrics-Neonatology
    • Psychiatry
    • Pulmonology
    • Radiology
    • Surgery
    • Urology
    • Laboratory Medicine
    • Diet
    • Nursing
    • Paramedical
    • Physiotherapy
  • Health news
    • Doctor News
    • Government Policies
    • Hospital & Diagnostics
    • International Health News
    • Medical Organization News
    • Medico Legal News
    • NBE News
    • NMC News
  • Fact Check
    • Bone Health Fact Check
    • Brain Health Fact Check
    • Cancer Related Fact Check
    • Child Care Fact Check
    • Dental and oral health fact check
    • Diabetes and metabolic health fact check
    • Diet and Nutrition Fact Check
    • Eye and ENT Care Fact Check
    • Fitness fact check
    • Gut health fact check
    • Heart health fact check
    • Kidney health fact check
    • Medical education fact check
    • Men's health fact check
    • Respiratory fact check
    • Skin and hair care fact check
    • Vaccine and Immunization fact check
    • Women's health fact check
  • AYUSH
    • Ayurveda
      • Ayurveda Giuidelines
      • Ayurveda News
    • Homeopathy
      • Homeopathy Guidelines
      • Homeopathy News
    • Siddha
      • Siddha Guidelines
      • Siddha News
    • Unani
      • Unani Guidelines
      • Unani News
    • Yoga
      • Yoga Guidelines
      • Yoga News
  • State News
    • Andaman and Nicobar Islands
    • Andhra Pradesh
    • Arunachal Pradesh
    • Assam
    • Bihar
    • Chandigarh
    • Chattisgarh
    • Dadra and Nagar Haveli
    • Daman and Diu
    • Delhi
    • Goa
    • Gujarat
    • Haryana
    • Himachal Pradesh
    • Jammu & Kashmir
    • Jharkhand
    • Karnataka
    • Kerala
    • Ladakh
    • Lakshadweep
    • Madhya Pradesh
    • Maharashtra
    • Manipur
    • Meghalaya
    • Mizoram
    • Nagaland
    • Odisha
    • Puducherry
    • Punjab
    • Rajasthan
    • Sikkim
    • Tamil Nadu
    • Telangana
    • Tripura
    • Uttar Pradesh
    • Uttrakhand
    • West Bengal
  • Medical Education
    • Ayush Education News
    • Dentistry Education News
    • Medical Admission News
    • Medical Colleges News
    • Medical Courses News
    • Medical Universities News
    • Nursing education News
    • Paramedical Education News
    • Study Abroad
  • Industry
    • Health Investment News
    • Health Startup News
    • Medical Devices News
    • Pharma News
      • CDSCO (Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation) News
    • Pharmacy Education News
    • Industry Perspective
  • Home
  • Diabetes and Endocrinology
  • Diabetes and Endocrinology News
  • Dual hormone combo...

Dual hormone combo effectively controls blood sugar in diabetes

Written By : Dr. Kamal Kant Kohli Published On 2020-05-12T12:45:10+05:30  |  Updated On 12 May 2020 1:19 PM IST
Dual hormone combo effectively controls blood sugar in diabetes
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • linkedin
  • whatsapp
  • Telegram
  • Email

Researchers have devised a new way to combine insulin with a second hormone known as amylin to create an experimental treatment that mimics how our bodies work leading to better control of blood sugar.

Treatment of patients with diabetes with insulin and pramlintide is more effective than treatment with insulin only. However, because mixtures of insulin and pramlintide are unstable and have to be injected separately, amylin analogues are only used by 1.5% of people with diabetes for blood sugar control.

The co-administration of supramolecularly stabilized insulin and pramlintide better mimics the endogenous kinetics of co-secreted insulin and amylin, and holds promise as a dual-hormone replacement therapy.

Researchers at Stanford school of engineering have developed a way to formulate a combination of insulin and amylin to boost the effectiveness of the insulin injections for better control of blood sugar of patients.The research paper has been published in Nature Biomedical Engineering.

The new technique involves a protective coating that wraps around insulin and amylin molecules and, for the first time, allows them to coexist in a single shot.

Led by materials scientist Eric Appel, the advance might enable patients with diabetes to take a double-acting shot that contains insulin in combination with a drug based on a second hormone, known as amylin. Amylin plays a synergistic role with insulin to control blood sugar levels after eating in a way that is more effective than insulin alone and mimics what occurs naturally with a meal.

While the amylin-based drug is already commercially available, it is estimated that less than 1 percent of patients with diabetes taking insulin therapy also take this complementary treatment because the two hormones - which work together seamlessly in the body - are too unstable to coexist in the same syringe.

"Taking that second injection with the insulin shot is a real barrier for most patients. Our formulation would allow them to be given together in a single injection or in an insulin pump," said Appel, senior author of a research paper.

"This coating dissolves in the bloodstream, enabling these two important hormones to work together in a way that mimics how they function in healthy individuals," Appel said.

So far, the researchers have tested the wrapper's stability in the laboratory, and done preliminary experiments to see how their two-in-one injection works on the most advanced preclinical model - diabetic pigs. But, because both drugs are already on the market and the dual-drug formulation was tested in advanced models, Appel said the team need only demonstrate that their technique is nontoxic in humans to start trials in people, bringing this technology closer to market than most early-stage drugs.

Appel and his collaborators hope this approach could, one day, dramatically increase the use of amylin and lead to improved glucose management for the estimated 450 million people worldwide with either juvenile (type 1) diabetes or adult-onset (type 2) diabetes.

Although few patients with diabetes currently take the amylin-based drug after their insulin injection, those who do experience profound benefits, Appel said. Past clinical data shows that patients taking both lose weight and have better control over their blood sugar. Enhanced diabetes management can reduce the risk of serious health complications, such as renal failure, blindness, heart disease and amputations, all of which loom over anyone with diabetes.

If the wrapper approach makes it possible to combine insulin and amylin in one dose, this would offer patients with diabetes a convenient way to mimic their natural secretion in the human body. In non-diabetics, amylin is secreted from the same cells in the pancreas that produce insulin. Insulin improves the uptake of sugar by cells, removing it from the bloodstream.

For its part, amylin does three things to control blood sugar. First, it stops another hormone, glucagon, from telling the body to release additional sugar that has been stored in the liver. Second, it produces a sense of "fullness" at mealtimes that reduces food intake. Third, it actually slows the uptake of food by the body, reducing the typical spike in blood sugar after a meal. All three are a boon to diabetes care.

To make it possible to pair insulin and amylin in one syringe, the researchers developed a molecular wrapper made of polyethylene glycol, or PEG, a common nontoxic chemical used in everything from cosmetics to laxatives. The Stanford team used a new type of PEG that has a sort of molecular Velcro on the end, called cucurbituril-PEG or CB-PEG. The Velcro-like abilities of CB-PEG enable it to reversibly bind to both insulin and amylin separately, shielding the unstable portions of each molecule from breakdown. Once injected into the body, however, the drugs unbind from the CB-PEG and are free to act unhindered.

"CB-PEG is an entirely new chemical entity," Appel said.

In lab tests of stability, the researchers heated wrapped and unwrapped insulin to normal body temperature and shook it, a process known as stressed aging. They found that unprotected insulin was stable for just 10 hours in the test tube, but the "PEGylated" insulin was still fully active 100 hours later. Without the wrap, the dual-drug combo fails in just 3 hours.

More impressive, however, is that the co-formulation of PEGylated insulin and amylin remained stable for at least 100 hours, which could be a long enough shelf life to mean that the combination could be delivered by insulin pumps.

In animal studies, the researchers saw significant overlap of the activity of the dual-drug formulation, an important finding that indicates the approach is closely mimicking what happens in a healthy body - including a near-total suppression of glucagon, the hormone that tells the liver to release stored sugar, even though the person has just consumed a meal.

"We're excited about the results to say the least," Appel said. Appel has already filed for a patent on the technology.

For further reference log on to:

http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41551-020-0555-4

Dual hormoneblood sugardiabetesDual hormone combo and blood sugar controlInsulin pramlintide combination
Source : Nature Biomedical Engineering
Dr. Kamal Kant Kohli
Dr. Kamal Kant Kohli

Dr Kamal Kant Kohli-MBBS, DTCD- a chest specialist with more than 30 years of practice and a flair for writing clinical articles, Dr Kamal Kant Kohli joined Medical Dialogues as a Chief Editor of Medical News. Besides writing articles, as an editor, he proofreads and verifies all the medical content published on Medical Dialogues including those coming from journals, studies,medical conferences,guidelines etc. Email: drkohli@medicaldialogues.in. Contact no. 011-43720751

Show Full Article
Next Story

Editorial

Penicillin-Binding Protein 3 Inserts in E.coli:A Growing Burden of Underreported Threat

Penicillin-Binding Protein 3 Inserts in E.coli:A Growing Burden of Underreported Threat

Management of Hypertension: How Innovative Packaging Can Improve Patient Outcomes?

Management of Hypertension: How Innovative Packaging Can Improve Patient Outcomes?

Uncontrolled T2D in India: Valuable Consideration for Dapagliflozin Sitagliptin Combination

Uncontrolled T2D in India: Valuable Consideration for Dapagliflozin Sitagliptin Combination

JAPI Releases Dedicated Supplement Addressing Clinical Needs for Adult Vaccination in India

JAPI Releases Dedicated Supplement Addressing Clinical Needs for Adult Vaccination in India

Cuticapil Stem Hair Serum as Add-On to Minoxidil Shows Superior Hair Growth in Androgenetic Alopecia : Indian Real World Data

Cuticapil Stem Hair Serum as Add-On to Minoxidil Shows Superior Hair Growth in Androgenetic Alopecia...

View All

Journal Club Today

New Tool Can Calculate Heart Age and Reveal Hidden Cardiovascular Risks: JAMA

New Tool Can Calculate Heart Age and Reveal Hidden Cardiovascular Risks: JAMA

View All

Health News Today

Health Bulletin 02/August/ 2025

Health Bulletin 02/August/ 2025

View All
© 2022 All Rights Reserved.
Powered By: Hocalwire
X
We use cookies for analytics, advertising and to improve our site. You agree to our use of cookies by continuing to use our site. To know more, see our Cookie Policy and Cookie Settings.Ok