Daniel Mikos, a 13-year-old boy from Roscoe, Ill., will be the first person to receive oral insulin at the University as part of the nationwide Diabetes Prevention Trial.
The trial tests individuals for the potential risk to develop Type I, or insulin-dependent, diabetes. Since the trial began on Sept. 10, the University has screened hundreds of possible participants.
Daniel and his family will be in the Twin Cities in late October so he can take the pill, which doctors hope will prevent him from developing the disease. Animal tests have shown that oral insulin may prevent onset of the disease.
Oral insulin is not effective for treating diabetes, though doctors feel confident that humans will react to the drug the same way animals have.
Maria Giles, a 6-year-old girl from Cottage Grove, was initially chosen to take the oral supplement. However, she failed a preliminary screening test in September.
— Michelle Kibiger