Basal insulin therapy can tackle type 2 diabetes, expert says (Source:Times of India)
CHENNAI: India has a huge diabetic population and though most of them suffer from type 2 diabetes, type-1 diabetes is slowly on the rise as well, say experts.
Dr Satish Kumar Garg, director of adult diabetes programme at the Barbara Davis Centre for Childhood Diabetes, USA, elaborated on the latest development in tackling type 2 diabetes.
The doctor, who was conferred with the Dr Mohan's diabetes specialties centre (DMDSC) gold medal award recently, pointed out that basal insulin therapy helps in effective management of type 2 diabetes and is often used in conjugation with oral agent therapy.
Basal insulin therapy is normally prescribed to a patient who needs insulin to work slowly while delivering long-acting diabetes control. It works day and night to control blood sugar and is taken once or twice a day at the same time every day, often with the evening meal or at bedtime, to provide 24-hour insulin coverage. "Hypoglycemia or low blood sugar can have adverse reactions if not attended to on time and it is also the prime cause of defensive eating and obesity. So insulin therapy is of utmost importance," he said.
The doctor said that the future of basal insulin therapy was quite promising but only time would tell how effective it was on patients.
New insulins like degludec, pegylated insulin lispro and glucose responsive insulin which are still in the development stage have the capacity of reducing the burden on the diabetics.
"Degludec is truly a 24-hour insulin as it maintains the insulin level throughout the day unlike the current round the clock insulin that lasts only for 18 hours," he said. Normally, insulin therapy results in weight gain for the patients but pegylated insulin aids in weight reduction. "Glucose responsive insulin is an exciting development as it will eject insulin only when the blood sugar is low," said Dr Garg.
Dr Mohan, chairman of DMDSC said, "About 2 to 3% of all diabetics have type 1 diabetes and 95% suffer from type 2 diabetes. After 15 years, almost 80% of the type 2 diabetics will also require insulin for blood sugar control. So such developments show a positive trend in diabetes treatment."
Dr Satish Kumar Garg, director of adult diabetes programme at the Barbara Davis Centre for Childhood Diabetes, USA, elaborated on the latest development in tackling type 2 diabetes.
The doctor, who was conferred with the Dr Mohan's diabetes specialties centre (DMDSC) gold medal award recently, pointed out that basal insulin therapy helps in effective management of type 2 diabetes and is often used in conjugation with oral agent therapy.
Basal insulin therapy is normally prescribed to a patient who needs insulin to work slowly while delivering long-acting diabetes control. It works day and night to control blood sugar and is taken once or twice a day at the same time every day, often with the evening meal or at bedtime, to provide 24-hour insulin coverage. "Hypoglycemia or low blood sugar can have adverse reactions if not attended to on time and it is also the prime cause of defensive eating and obesity. So insulin therapy is of utmost importance," he said.
The doctor said that the future of basal insulin therapy was quite promising but only time would tell how effective it was on patients.
New insulins like degludec, pegylated insulin lispro and glucose responsive insulin which are still in the development stage have the capacity of reducing the burden on the diabetics.
"Degludec is truly a 24-hour insulin as it maintains the insulin level throughout the day unlike the current round the clock insulin that lasts only for 18 hours," he said. Normally, insulin therapy results in weight gain for the patients but pegylated insulin aids in weight reduction. "Glucose responsive insulin is an exciting development as it will eject insulin only when the blood sugar is low," said Dr Garg.
Dr Mohan, chairman of DMDSC said, "About 2 to 3% of all diabetics have type 1 diabetes and 95% suffer from type 2 diabetes. After 15 years, almost 80% of the type 2 diabetics will also require insulin for blood sugar control. So such developments show a positive trend in diabetes treatment."
Source: TOI
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