Could insulin pills prevent diabetes? Big study seeks answer


              In this photo taken Wednesday, May 13, 2015, Hayden Murphy, 13, sits for a photo with his medicine at his home in Plainfield, Ill. Hayden is among more than 400 children and adults participating in U.S. government-funded international research investigating whether experimental insulin capsules can prevent or at least delay Type 1 diabetes. To enroll, participants must first get bad news: results of a blood test showing their chances for developing the disease are high. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
In this photo taken Wednesday, May 13, 2015, Hayden Murphy, 13, sits for a photo with his medicine at his home in Plainfield, Ill. Hayden is among more than 400 children and adults participating in U.S. government-funded international research investigating whether experimental insulin capsules can prevent or at least delay Type 1 diabetes. To enroll, participants must first get bad news: results of a blood test showing their chances for developing the disease are high. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

CHICAGO (AP) - For decades, insulin shots have been a life-saving diabetes treatment. Now scientists have raised an unusual question. What if insulin in pills could prevent the disease?

They're testing that idea in children and adults in a big study funded by the National Institutes of Health.

To qualify, subjects must have lab tests that show they're at risk for developing Type 1 diabetes. That's the kind usually diagnosed in childhood. It affects a little over 1 million Americans and is increasing worldwide for unknown reasons.

Thirteen-year-old Hayden Murphy of Plainfield, Illinois, is among the participants. He swallows a white capsule every day containing either insulin or a placebo. He's hoping to avoid a life-changing condition, and he wants to help scientists better understand a disease already diagnosed in his little brother.

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