June 26, 2001 Posted: 2:24 PM EDT (1824 GMT)

Bill Gravitt inhales insulin as part of a clinical trial of the new delivery system

By From Dr. Sanjay Gupta

CNN Medical UnitATLANTA, Georgia -- Like most people, Bill Gravitt hates needles. Yet for 10 years, he's had to inject himself with insulin four to five times a day to control his diabetes. "After a while, regardless of the amount of area of your body ... you get to the point where you just cringe when you begin to give yourself a shot," he said. Nearly 16 million Americans have diabetes, and half of them rely on daily insulin shots. But soon that may change. Gravitt is enrolled in a clinical trial at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, testing a new insulin delivery systemIt's inhaled, so there's no need for needles. "You take the inhaled insulin after each meal to get better control and actually mimic the way the pancreas works," said Dr. Priscilla Hollander of Baylor University Medical Center. When Gravitt releases the powder into a canister and breathes in, the insulin is quickly dispersed through his lungs and then into his bloodstream. It's a simple procedure that has changed his life, Gravitt said. "My lifestyle is not nearly as limited as when I was taking the shots," he added. Clinical trials are nearly complete, testing the effectiveness of inhaled insulin to treat Type 2 diabetes, in which the body does not produce enough insulin. For Gravitt, the inhaler seems to work very well. "My blood sugar has gone from 350 all the way down to 90, 92. And my average is probably a 120 or 115. That's a tremendous advance from where I was," he said. If the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approves inhaled insulin, doctors are optimistic that these inhalers will offer better blood sugar control, and insulin injections will become a mere memory.