Oral insulin may prevent Diabetes

Gainesville, Fla. -- U.S. researchers are testing oral insulin to see if it can prevent type 1 diabetes in people at risk for the disease.

The trial is being conducted at 14 medical centers around the nation, the University of Florida said Friday in a release.

An estimated 1 million to 2 million people have type 1 diabetes, which occurs when white blood cells attack insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas.

The insulin these cells produce regulates how the body uses and stores sugar and other food nutrients for energy.

An earlier trial suggested that oral insulin might delay type 1 diabetes for about four years in some people with islet cell autoantibodies in their blood.

Some scientists think that introducing insulin via the digestive tract induces tolerance, which is a quieting of the immune system.

Copyright 2007 by United Press International.