Washington Week: Student Voices (O)

FDA approves new inhalable diabetes drug
By Angie Hanson
Kansas State Collegian (Kansas State U.)
02/07/2006

(U-WIRE) MANHATTAN, Kan. — A new inhalable version of insulin could change the way many diabetics control their disease.

According to the Associated Press, an insulin inhaler that will be marketed as Exubera was approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration last month. The group's decision was announced after a three-month delay used for additional research into the drug's chemical data.

Clinical trials found the drug to be just as effective in managing blood sugar as injected insulin, offering an alternative treatment to insulin injections in order to regulate blood sugar.

The inhaler is just one of a number of treatment options available to more than 14 million Americans who have been diagnosed with either Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes. The disease has no cure, which leaves each diabetic to establish a personalized treatment plan with the aid of medical professionals.

Dane Schmidt, junior in pre-professional elementary education, said he was diagnosed with diabetes on Valentine's Day when he was 13 years old. Struck by what they thought to be a bad case of the flu, Schmidt said his parents drove him to the hospital to get him checked out.

Doctors tested his blood sugar. An ideal blood sugar level is 100. Schmidt tested at 1600, more than 10 times the normal level. The doctors diagnosed him with Type 1 diabetes.

"The day I got the diagnosis, I was surprised. I thought, 'I'm going to be a diabetic forever.'"

Schmidt said he went on to learn that Type 1 diabetes was caused by his pancreas' inability to secrete insulin. Doctors told Schmidt that a carefully balanced diet, frequent blood tests and insulin injections were the key to controlling his disease.

Michelle Netson, registered dietician at the Derby Dining Center at Kansas State University, said detailed planning of daily meals is an important factor in monitoring diabetes.

"You establish a pattern that keeps you in balance," she said. "When you alter that pattern, you may have to alter other factors, such as exercise. The whole goal is to establish control."

Netson said that registered dietitians are available at all three campus dining centers to help diabetic students find balanced meal options appropriate for their needs.

Seven years later, Schmidt has perfected a careful routine to regulate his diabetes. He checks his blood five times a day with a quick finger prick. Having switched from insulin injections, he wears a device called a pump that administers insulin into his bloodstream throughout the day.

Aside from check-ups two to three times a year, Schmidt said that caring for his diabetes has become so automatic that it holds little significance in his daily routine of classes, working two jobs and practicing with his band.

"Most people don't even know that I'm a diabetic," he said. "I can do anything a normal college student can do. After a while, (treatment) just becomes a habit."

While Schmidt said he had no trouble adapting when he began his college career, Dianna Schalles, health educator and registered dietician at Lafene Health Center, said that many students struggle with the transition from living at home to life on their own.

"It is not an insurmountable obstacle, but it may be a challenge to many students," Schalles said. "Parents have called me with concerns about their sons and daughters. They are afraid of appearing different from their friends, and sometimes neglect their health in their pursuit to fit in."

Despite the pressure to fit in, Schalles said she reminds students not to neglect their health, because real friends will not care about their disease.

Schmidt said that he is usually alerted to any change in his blood sugar level when he has trouble focusing or feels a bit sluggish. A failure to detect his low blood sugar levels, however, put Shdmidt in the emergency room several months ago.

"I work in a lab with lots of liquid nitrogen, and burnt my hands pretty badly," he said. "I don't really know how it happened, but I woke up during the car ride to the hospital."

Schmidt's blood sugar level was dangerously low, which he thinks may have affected his decision to pick up an object submerged in the freezing chemical.

"I think my blood sugar was low, or I would have had a quicker reaction time, or would have had gloves on," he said.

Schmidt is the creator of Club Diabetes on the popular student Web site the Facebook. The club has 53 members, some diabetic and some not.

"I started the club to let other diabetics know they're not alone," he said. "It offers a little support."

[ Back to Student Voices ]