§ Mr. Alfred Morrisasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what research his Department is supporting into alternatives to insulin injections for diabetics.
§ Mr. BrookeThe Medical Research Council, which receives its grant-in-aid through the Department, is the main Government agency for the promotion of medical148W research in the United Kingdom. I understand that the MRC is currently supporting three research projects concerned with alternatives to insulin injections for diabetics:
- i. A prospective study, with other co-funding bodies, comparing diet, sulphonamide drugs and insulin as possible alternatives for the control of glucose in maturity-onset diabetes.
- ii. The development of a slow infusion pump as an alternative to injection as a means of administering insulin.
- iii. Research on pancreatic islet transplantation as a method for treating diabetes.
The council is also supporting other research on diabetes which might prove relevant to developments in treatment.
It is likely that research work on and relevant to the treatment of diabetes is being conducted in universities and medical schools using funds allocated for teaching and research through the University Grants Committee, but details of such work are not collected centrally.