Advances in Diabetes Treatment-Inhalable Insulin

In the most advanced concept of therapy with inhalable insulin, insulin is delivered as a dry-powder insulin formulation, which can be loaded into a special aerosol device system.

Recent studies have shown that the inhalable insulin is absorbed in a dose-dependent and reproducible manner, and the therapeutic efficacy and safety is comparable to subcutaneous insulin. Inhalable insulin is an effective therapy in type 2 diabetes, if used early in the course of the disease.

The obvious and most important advantage of inhalable insulin is the comfort of delivery. However, in patients with pulmonary diseases, there is still no available clinical data concerning the efficacy of the inhaled insulin. Another factor is that inhalable insulin requires larger doses of insulin compared to subcutaneous insulin, which raises the cost of treatment. Potential side effects to insulin like hypoglycemia and weight gain still remain with this product. In addition, the yet unknown risk of carcinogenicity and lung damage, has limited the widespread use of inhalable insulin. Further studies are required to address these issues.