Insulin (medication) to develop an orally available insulin. Many of these approaches employ nanoparticle delivery systems and several are being tested in clinical trials. Another improvement would be a transplantation of the pancreas or beta cell to avoid periodic insulin administration. This would result in a self-regulating insulin source. Transplantation of an entire pancreas (as an individual organ) is difficult and relatively uncommon. It is often performed in conjunction with liver or kidney transplant, although it can be done by itself. It is also possible to do a transplantation of only the pancreatic beta cells. However, islet transplants had been highly experimental
Insulin resistance (generally caused by insulin resistance), this down-regulation acts as a kind of positive feedback, increasing the need for insulin. Exercise reverses this process in muscle tissue, but if it is left unchecked, it may contribute to insulin resistance. Elevated blood levels of glucose—regardless of cause—lead to increased glycation of proteins with changes, only a few of which are understood in any detail, in protein function throughout the body. Insulin resistance often is found in people with visceral adiposity (i.e., a high degree of fatty tissue within the abdomen—as distinct from subcutaneous adiposity or fat between the skin and the muscle