Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

Iran invented new insulin with long-term effects for those suffering from diabetes, ISNA news agency reported.

The effects of the insulin have been extended in a way that problems resulting from frequent insulin injection can be eliminated.

Head of the project for the new insulin's creation Siamak Beiranvand said it is possible to enhance the effects of insulin by adding a type of fatty acid.

Beiranvand said diabetic patients usually need to have insulin injections every three or eight hours per day.

"The insulin we created can be used by diabetic patients once a day before going to sleep; this medicine will be effective for 21-24 hours," Beiranvand said.

He went to say the new medicine has no analogues in other countries.

"This medicine has been tested on animals, and work has been carried out for its large-scale production and sale in the market," Beiranvand said.

He added that the new insulin was produced by the Razi Kimya Gohar Company.

Iran spends $10-11 billion for treatment of diabetes every year.

Head of Iran's Society for Support of Diabetics Shakour Omidi said in November that around 15 percent of Iran's population suffers from diabetes.

Omidi said more than eight million people suffer from diabetes, adding that 70 percent of Iranians are unaware of their condition.

Secretary of the International Congress on Endocrinology & Metabolism Updates Sasan Sharghi said earlier about 10 percent of Iranians of 25 to 65 years of age suffer from diabetes, and about half of the population is prone to it.

Sharghi said each year some 300,000 people are afflicted by diabetes in Iran, with about 100,000 of them living in capital city of Tehran.