Could insulin pills prevent diabetes?

Study seeks to answer that question

In this photo taken Wednesday, May 13, 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. - photo by Associated Press

Preventing Diabetes Ledb — In this photo taken Wednesday, May 13, 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. - photo by Associated Press

CHICAGO — For nearly a century, insulin has been a life-saving diabetes treatment. Now scientists are testing a tantalizing question: What if pills containing the same medicine patients inject every day could also prevent the disease? Thirteen-year-old Hayden Murphy of Plainfield, Illinois, is helping researchers determine if the strategy works for Type 1 diabetes, the kind that is usually diagnosed in childhood.

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