Scientists Develop "Smart" Insulin that Automatically Adjusts Blood Sugar

For patients with type 1 diabetes (T1D), the burden of constantly judging when and how much insulin to self-inject is bad enough. Even worse, a miscalculation or lapse in regimen can cause blood sugar levels to rise too high, potentially leading to heart disease and other long-term complications, or to plummet too low, which in the worst cases can result in coma or even death. Danny Chou, Ph.D., USTAR assistant professor of biochemistry, has helped develop a “smart” insulin that automatically adjusts blood sugar in mice with a diabetes-like condition. He discusses his research results and what it could mean for diabetes treatment in the future. Learn more about the research.