Research into diabetes management through longer-acting insulin is showing more promise with the announcement Wednesday that an experimental, ultra-long-acting insulin given just three times a week proved as effective as daily insulin for controlling blood sugar in people with Type 2 diabetes.
Type 2 diabetes patients in the phase II trials of the drug degludec who took the drug by injection three times a week had similar reductions in hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) as patients who got daily injections of the most widely prescribed long-acting insulin, Lantus (glargine), manufactured by Sanofi-Aventis.
But patients who took daily injections of the experimental insulin experienced the fewest episodes of potentially dangerous low blood sugar, known medically as hypoglycemia, reports WebMD.com.
The results of the research, funded by degludec maker Novo Nordisk, appeared in The Lancet.
Study researcher Bernard Zinman of the University of Toronto says the significant reduction in hypoglycemia seen among patients who took daily degludec injections suggests an advantage for the drug and dosing schedule.
“This ‘proof of concept’ phase II study showed that patients achieve good (blood sugar) control when degludec is given just three times a week,” he tells WebMD. “But if you ask if I would recommend that it be used this way, my answer would be no. I think it should be used daily to reduce the risk of hypoglycemia.”
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