For ten years scientists have been trying to develop an inhalant version of insulin. Now an FDA advisory panel has approved Exubera by Pfizer despite concerns about the fact that it clearly decreases lung function–though not drastically and not progressively.

Another case of balancing the good with the bad. Diabetes I and II both depend on close control of insulin, but the method of administering it for those who need it frequently has been tough–needle pricks, injections, etc. This area of research has yielded a little progress in patches and hardware for transdermal drug delivery methods, but so far nothing is risk-free or gives perfect control.

Cleveland Clinic’s Lerner Research folks and the Case Western Reserve University people are doing a presentation on developments in using nanotechnology to deliver drugs. If my schedule allows, I’ll be attending that next week. If I make it, I’ll write up what I hear.