Scientists Develop "Smart" Insulin That Can Respond to Blood Sugar Level Changes in Real Time

It's the closest we've come to a "cure" for Type 1 diabetes.

In what's being heralded as a potentially revolutionary solution for diabetics, scientists have developed a type of insulin that can respond to changing blood sugar levels in real-time.

"Glucose-responsive — so-called smart — insulins are regarded as the holy grail of insulin," said Tim Heise, vice-chair of the novel insulins scientific advisory panel for the Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge in the UK, told The Guardian. How so? As Heise explained: "They would come as close to a cure for type 1 diabetes as any drug therapy could."

Research teams in the US, Australia, and China developed new sources for insulin that lie dormant in the body, which can be activated and deactivated as needed, then mimicking the human body's natural response to changing blood sugar levels.

Today, the insulin used by diabetics needs to be injected repeatedly, every couple of hours. It's a laborious process for those suffering from Type 1 diabetes.

The newly developed "glucose-responsive insulins" (GRIs) are activated when blood sugar levels rise. They're then inactivated again once levels pass a certain threshold. According to experts, diabetics may only need to inject smart insulin only once a week as a result.

If this sounds far off, consider the fact that the researchers have already been awarded millions of dollars worth of UK government grants to aid in their research, The Guardian reports.

Other research projects awarded grants include efforts to fine-tune smart insulin for a faster and more precise response to blood sugar level changes. As of right now, GRIs still suffer from delays after being injected, which could cause blood sugar levels to rise to unsafe levels.

"While insulin has been saving lives for over 100 years now, and previous research has driven important changes for people with type 1, it is still not good enough — managing glucose levels with insulin is really tough, and it’s time for science to find ways to lift that burden," director of research partnerships at the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation UK, told The Guardian.

"We are hopeful that this research will lead to life-changing advancements in type 1 diabetes care," Diabetes UK director of research Elizabeth Robertson added.

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