Here’s some sweet news: Diabetics now have a new way to control their blood sugar levels during meals. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved an inhalable form of insulin that can help patients keep control of glucose spikes far faster than the traditional injection, the Associated Press reports.
The new drug is called Afrezza and it’s manufactured by California-based biotech company MannKind Corp. The medication is a fast-acting insulin powder that must be inhaled within 20 minutes of eating a meal. Afrezza comes in a single-use cartridge, similar to an asthma inhaler, and can help patients reach peak insulin levels within 15 minutes.
Researchers believe that’s a huge improvement over insulin injections for diabetes patients, who average wait times of an hour and a half for the injectable hormone to work.
But scientists also warn that the inhaler is not designed as a substitute for long-acting insulin. This inhalable version is simply a new option for controlling the hormone’s levels during meals.
Afrezza is designed for adults with type 2 diabetes, the most common form of the disease. The FDA strongly warns that the inhalable med should not be used by patients with chronic lung diseases, such as asthma or smoker’s cough, as it may lead to breathing spasms.
Interested in more high-tech solutions for diabetes? Click here to read about a contact lens that can monitor blood sugar levels in tears.
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