More Good News

Finally, a new insulin therapy for diabetics. Since insulin was invented, it's been given by injection. So not only does the patient have to poke their fingers to get a blood sample, but most often it's followed by injection, sometimes several injections a day.

Pfizer now has an inhaled form of insulin called Exubera, which was approved by the FDA on Friday. This is very good news for the 5 million + diabetics in the U.S. Safety and effectiveness were studied in more than 2500 adults with type 1 and type 2 diabetes, and peak insulin levels were achieved on average of 49 minutes, versus an average of105 minutes with injected insulins.


The bad news, Exhubera shouldn't be used by smokers, or those who quit smoking within the last 6 months, the FDA said. Nor is it recommended for people with bronchitis, asthma, or emphysema.

Pfizer will continute to conduct long-term studies of Exhubera's safety and effectivenss, particularly those with underlying lung disease, the FDA said.

What would be better, would be a permanent cure. I believe they're working on that one!