A newly produced wafer, known as the MSL-001, could end the need for daily insulin jabs in diabetic patients, according to the Daily Mail. The wafer is approximately the size of a postage stamp and delivers the same amount of insulin as the standard needle dose; the MSL-001 is delivered through the inner surface of the cheek where it taps into thousands of tiny blood vessels to rapidly deliver the required amount of insulin.
Patients with Type 1 Diabetes possess pancreases that do not produce any insulin, whereas those with Type 2 Diabetes have lower levels of production, leading to the need for daily insulin shots to avoid the damaged blood vessels that can occur due to improper insulin levels.
The MSL-001 device is one in a line of many others that are currently being developed to increase the effectiveness of diabetes treatments and eliminate the need for insulin shots, as previously reported by HNGN.
Earlier this month, a woman underwent a successful transplant of pancreas cells that allowed her to stop taking her insulin shots, according to the Miami Herald. The transplant was a part of a clinical trial at the Diabetes Research Institute (DRI) at UHealth - University of Miami Health System.
"To think I can go to sleep at night and not worry that my blood sugar is going to drop it's almost like a weight has been lifted," said Wendy Peacock, who underwent the transplant.
Approximately 9.3% of the American population has diabetes, with approximately 1.7 million new diagnoses a year, according to the American Diabetes Association.
