Smart Insulin

Context

Scientists have achieved a significant breakthrough in creating a “smart” insulin that reacts in real time to changes in blood sugar levels.

About Smart insulin

• A team of scientists have developed an innovative insulin called NNC2215. This new insulin features an “on-and-off switch” that allows it to respond automatically to blood glucose levels.
• Comprises a ring-shaped structure and a glucoside molecule which keeps the insulin inactive when the blood glucose levels are low. As glucose levels rise, it replaces the glucoside, activating the insulin.

About Insulin

• Insulin is a hormone produced by beta cells of pancreatic islets.
• It regulates the metabolism of carbohydrates, fats and proteins by promoting absorption of glucose from blood into cells of liver, fat and skeletal muscles.
• Insulin is the first protein to be chemically synthesised and produced by DNA recombinant technology.
• It is on the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines.

About Diabetes

• It is a chronic disease that occurs when the pancreas can no longer make insulin or the body cannot make good use of the produced insulin.
• Over the long-term high glucose levels lead to damage to the body and failure of various organs and tissues.

Types of Diabetes

• Type 1 diabetes: It is a condition when the immune system destroys insulin-making cells inside pancreas called beta cells.
  • The body produces very little or no insulin.
  • Also known as juvenile diabetes because it is usually diagnosed in children and young people.
• Type 2 diabetes: It results from the body’s ineffective use of insulin that it produces.
  • More than 95% of people with diabetes have type 2 diabetes.
• Gestational diabetes (GDM): It consists of high blood glucose and occurs during pregnancy.
  • Women with GDM are at an increased risk of complications during pregnancy and at delivery.

These women and possibly their children are also at increased risk of type 2 diabetes in the future.

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