It gets even weirder.  Last week my partner got an invitation in the
mail addressed to his full name offering him the chance to participate
in a study of inhaled insulin.

Only thing, is, he's not and never has been diabetic. Are they just
randomly mailing?

--Jenny

http://www.geocities.com/lottadata4u  Diabetes Info

http://www.alt-support-diabetes.org/newlydiagnosed.htm Get Your Blood
Sugar Under Control

I have always heard  cocaine use may cause damaging or perforating the
septum, the thin membrane that separates the nostrils at the top of the
nose. Regular coke snorters often suffer instant nosebleeds when snorting
the drug. Occasional users may detect next-day bloodied mucus and
congestion. Heavy users have their septum's dissolved by corrosive effects
of cocaine.

Would a regular inhaled insulin user face the same problems?

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/522369?sssdmh=dm1.179255&src=nldne

Pfizer Wins European Approval for Inhaled Insulin

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) Jan 26 - Pfizer Inc. on Thursday said
European regulators approved its inhaled insulin treatment
for diabetes. Exubera is the first non-injectable, inhalable
form of insulin to be approved since the discovery of
insulin in the 1920s, Pfizer said.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is slated to make its
decision on the product by Friday.

Exubera was approved for use in adult type 2 diabetics who
are no longer responding to oral drugs and in type 1
diabetics in combination with long-acting injected insulin.

Several other companies are developing inhaled insulin
products, including Eli Lilly & Co. and Alkermes Inc., which
are partners in one project, and Mannkind Corp, Kos
Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Novo Nordisk.

Speaking of cumbersome, have you actually seen applicator? It's huge!
http://www.runsweet.com/90026.html?*session*id*key*=*session*id*val*

I also note that they don't seem to show pictures of it much, and
that's the only one I have seen. No wonder, as it looks about as
cumbersome as an oxygen tank.

Given the apparent variability of it, plus the dosing restrictions
(only 1 and 3 mg insulin blister packs) It sounds like it would be a
PITA to use. It also won't replace the basal, just the bolus, so it
would only avoid some shots.

There is also the open question of what will long-term use do to lung
tissues.

I tend to agree Dave.
The known and unknown potential risks (http://www.exubera-risks.com/)
of using Exubera seem to make folks who use it guinea pigs, since the
data appears to be for a relatively short period.  Will those using
inhaled insulin suffer respiratory problems in 5, 10, or 20 years
related to using it?  The data seems inconclusive on this point.

Also, right after the FDA approved the drug that taking Exubera does
not mean that diabetics would suddenly be free of injections.  Folks
taking Lantus, NPH, and simliar long-acting insulins, they note, would
still have to keep up their regular injections of the drug.  Exubera is
a short-acting insulin, it doesn't hang around in the background 24/7
to continue a steady basal rate of delivery that Type 1 folks need.
(See:
http://www.exubera-risks.com/2006/02/08/diabetes-doctors-detail-limits-of-inhale
d-insulin-exubera/)

Nor does Exubera mean that folks will have to stop poking their fingers
regularly during the day to check their blood sugars.  That would be
foolish, risky, and just plain dumb.  To send a message to newly
diagnosed diabetics that they don't need to worry about finger sticks
is bad.

What the FDA and EU's approval does suggest, howoever, is that Pfizer
and Nektar Therapeutics (the company that made the inhaler delivery
system for Exubera), stand to profit enormously from the sale of a drug
that some predict will cost up to 3 times as much as regular injectable
insulin.  That is a win for the drugmakers, but patients and their
insurance companies may ultimately bear the increased costs associated
with the drug.

George