KAIST discovers diabetes treatment using light

The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) announced on Wednesday that they have discovered a method to treat diabetes by inserting organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) into the body. OLEDs emit light in the duodenal, increasing beneficial gut bacteria.

A joint research team led by Prof. Seunghyup Yoo of KAIST's Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering and Prof. Do-hyun Park of Asan Medical Center's Gastroenterology Department developed ultra-thin, flexible OLEDs.

These OLEDs emit light stably even in a highly humid environment and generate minimal heat. They used these ultra-thin, flexible OLEDs to create a medical catheter with a length of 6 cm in a cylindrical shape.

The researchers inserted the catheter into the duodenal of mice suffering from type 2 diabetes. Mice exposed to 798 millijoules of red light for 600 seconds through the catheter experienced reduced blood sugar levels and decreased insulin resistance compared to those that were not exposed to the light. Fibrosis levels in the liver also decreased.

The joint research team explained that the increase in beneficial gut bacteria and decrease in harmful bacteria within the intestines were attributed to the light emitted by the OLEDs inserted into the body. 

Write to Jin-Won Kim at jin1@hankyung.com