CLEVELAND — November is Diabetes Awareness Month, and according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 352,000 children and adolescents have either Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes in the U.S. That number is projected to rise.
While treatment varies, options usually include injectable insulin by needle or pump. But in 2014, the FDA approved an inhaled version of insulin called Afrezza.
James Jones learned he had Type 1 diabetes at the age of 16. For two years, he gave himself insulin shots, but the minute he turned 18, he switched to Afrezza, and he's glad he did.
"It's much quicker because I know for the injector shots, you have to hold them in for 10 seconds after you inject all the insulin to make sure that it doesn't leak," Jones said. "So this was very convenient for me throughout the day, and now I only take one shot a day."
Jones is studying aerospace engineering at the University of Cincinnati, and likes the freedom the inhaled insulin gives him.
"It's so much easier to not have to carb count your meals and then just carrying it around," he added. "It's more convenient, it's faster, it doesn't look as weird when you're in the bathroom at a public place taking out a needle to inject yourself."
For the last year, a clinical trial has been looking into the safety and efficacy of Afrezza on kids aged 4 to 17. UH Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital is one of 40 sites participating in the Inhale Trial and they're about to enroll their eighth patient, but they're looking for more.
"They can't have asthma, they can't have chronic lung disease really of any type," Dr. Jamie Wood, medical director of pediatric diabetes at Rainbow, said. "They can't be smokers, they can't be exposed to secondhand smoke, and then they have to have what we describe sort of reasonable blood sugar control. Also, hemoglobin 20, which is a measure of average blood sugar between seven and 11."
Afrezza works by inhaling an insulin powder contained in a small cartridge that's placed in a device that can break it open to be inhaled. The study is randomized, so some will not get the medication, but Wood says after six months it will be offered to all participants.
Those who might be interested in learning more about the Inhale Trial should call program coordinator Terri Casey, RN, at (216) 844-3627 or email her at terri.casey@uhhospitals.org. To learn more about the study and criteria for patients, click HERE.
The trial is expected to continue for at least another year.