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Intrapulmonary administration of insulin to healthy volunteers
1Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Linköping University, Sweden.
Insights
Nebulized insulin administered intrapulmonary significantly lowered blood glucose and increased serum insulin in healthy volunteers. This novel insulin delivery method shows promise for diabetic patients.
Area of Science:
- Endocrinology
- Pharmacology
- Respiratory Medicine
Background:
- Intrapulmonary insulin delivery offers a potential alternative to traditional administration routes.
- Understanding the biological effects of inhaled insulin is crucial for its therapeutic application.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the physiological impact of intrapulmonary nebulized insulin in healthy individuals.
- To assess dose-dependent effects and safety of inhaled insulin.
Main Methods:
- A double-blind, randomized, controlled study involving eight healthy volunteers.
- Administration of regular human insulin (40, 80, 160 U) or saline via nebulized oral inhalation.
- Monitoring of blood glucose, serum insulin, and serum C-peptide levels.
Main Results:
- A significant, dose-dependent decrease in blood glucose and increase in serum insulin were observed after 160 U insulin inhalation.
- Serum C-peptide levels decreased significantly, indicating suppression of endogenous insulin production.
- No adverse reactions or significant changes in lung function were reported.
Conclusions:
- Intrapulmonary insulin administration effectively induces hypoglycemia and raises serum insulin levels in healthy subjects.
- This route of insulin delivery may be a valuable future option for specific patient groups, including those with diabetes.
Objectives:
To study the biological effects of nebulized insulin, administered intrapulmonary, to healthy volunteers.
Design:
A double-blind, randomized, controlled intervention study.
Setting:
The department of Internal Medicine, University Hospital, Linköping, Sweden.
Subjects:
Eight healthy, non-smoking volunteers, with a mean age of 28 (range 22 to 56) years.
Interventions:
Regular human insulin 100 U mL-1 (Actrapid) or 0.9% saline was given randomly as an oral inhalation. Insulin was given in three different doses (40, 80 and 160 U). Aerosol was generated by a new jet nebulizer.
Main Outcome Measures:
Blood glucose, serum insulin, and serum C-peptide.
Results:
After the 160 U insulin dose the blood glucose concentration (mean +/- SE) fell from 4.3 +/- 0.2 to 2.8 +/- 0.2 mmol L-1 (P < 0.001), concomitant with an increase in mean serum insulin concentrations, rising from 9.5 +/- 1.5 to 26.1 +/- 2.5 mU L-1 (P < 0.001). Serum C-peptide concentrations simultaneously decreased from 0.48 +/- 0.03 to 0.12 +/- 0.02 mmol L-1 (P < 0.001). All changes were dose dependent. No adverse reactions were noted and no significant changes in lung function tests.
Conclusions:
Intrapulmonary insulin administration to healthy subjects can induce a significant hypoglycaemia and cause a clinically relevant increase in serum insulin concentrations. If similar results can be obtained when administering insulin to diabetic subjects, this insulin administration route can be a future complement to certain groups of patients.
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