In the future, a weekly-acting drug will be on the market, the full effectiveness of which is reached in 3-4 weeks, but for the moment 365 injections are needed per year
I am 71 years old and have been a diabetic for a long time; now, after various therapies, I keep my blood sugar under control, I have a glycated value of 7 (examination that allows me to evaluate the trend of my average blood sugar over the last 2-3 months) and I take one insulin a day. I have heard that there will be insulin that you take once in a while or that you can take by mouth. True?
He answers Lorenzo DeCandiaDiabetes Center Manager, ASL Bari – DSS2 Terlizzi Hospital, Association of Diabetologists (GO TO THE FORUM)
From what I understand from your letter, you have type 2 diabetes (adult), in which there is usually not an absolute lack of insulin but rather its inefficiency; this pathology is treated very well today with oral or even injection therapy of drugs that are not insulin, a hormone produced by the pancreas which is used to metabolise the sugars taken with food so that they do not accumulate in the blood (glycaemia). Unfortunately, even in adult diabetes, a condition of exhaustion of the pancreas, which leads to the need to administer insulin, for now only by injection; today its analogues are injected, modified so as to have greater promptness of action when administered with a meal (rapid insulins) or, conversely, longer-acting (slow insulins), to cover the night-time metabolic needs and those between one meal and another. In relation to slow insulins – the subject of your question – over the years we have gone from a duration of action of 5-10 hours to that of 24-36 hoursin order to ensure greater stability, but always with daily administration.
Weekly acting insulin
Therefore, in type 2 diabetes, administration of this type of insulin requires 365 injections per year, with relative consumption of needles and test strips to control blood sugar levels and calibrate the dosages (titration). The good news that, in the future, a weekly-acting insulin for type 2 diabetes will be on the market, the full effectiveness of which is reached in 3-4 weeks. The clinical studies that have tested the drug, called Onwards, show that the average weekly dose to be administered is only slightly increased compared to daily insulin; proved to be safe and well tolerated, with a similar number of blood glucose diminutions compared to traditional insulin, with slight weight gain (1.7 kg) at six months. If unfortunately studies on oral insulin have so far failed, the new drug would reduce the number of injections from 365 to 52 a yearwithout compromising blood sugar management, as explained by the lead author of the study, Athena Philis-Tsimikas.
June 25, 2023 (change June 25, 2023 | 08:35)
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