A medical advance is showing promise for millions of Americans who live with type 1 diabetes, offering them an alternative to the daily injections that have long been part of managing the condition. The development centers on a way to take insulin without a needle, a change that could ease one of the most difficult parts of daily life for many patients, especially the young.
One of those patients is Tacey Segrist, described as a bouncy eighth-grade athlete in Oklahoma who lives with type 1 diabetes. When she was 10 years old, she began a routine that she has always hated, one that became a constant and unwelcome part of her childhood and her time at school.
That routine meant taking between 7 and 10 insulin shots a day. The experience took an emotional toll on her, and she described how overwhelming it could be. She recalled freaking out so much that she made herself cry, a reaction that captured just how hard the daily injections were for her to face.
The injections also carried a social weight for the young athlete. She said she would usually give herself the shots in the bathroom or away from everyone else, because she was too scared of what other people would think if they saw her doing it in front of them.
Now Tacey has a different option. She showed off an insulin inhaler called Afrezza, a device that allows insulin to be taken by breathing it in rather than through a needle. She was part of a year-long research study carried out by the drug maker MannKind as it tested the inhaler.
For her family, the change has been significant. Her mother calls the inhaler a game changer, saying it means not having to worry about an extra piece of technology on your body or on your child's body. That relief speaks to how much the daily management of diabetes can weigh on patients and parents alike.
The enthusiasm is shared by medical professionals. Dr. Casey Berman, a pediatric endocrinologist, agrees that the inhaler is a breakthrough and that it is less painful than the injections it could replace. For young patients like Tacey, that combination of convenience and comfort is at the heart of why the new option is drawing attention.