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Long-Acting Insulin Works Best for Many Diabetics

THURSDAY, Oct. 22 (HealthDay News) -- Adding insulin to standard diabetes drugs results in better blood sugar control for many with type 2 diabetes, British researchers report, and the dose and timing of insulin received can make a big difference.

Specifically, a once-a-day, long-acting dose of insulin may be the best approach for patients making the move to insulin therapy, the study found.

Keeping blood sugar under control reduces the risk of complications in type 2 diabetes. But diabetes is also a progressive disease, which disrupts insulin production. Consequently, for many diabetes patients, the drugs used to control blood sugar need to be increased repeatedly and most patients will eventually need to take insulin, the researchers said.

"Any treatment which keeps blood sugar under control will minimize risk of complications, but in the end insulin may be the only effective way of doing this," explained lead researcher Dr. Rury Holman, a professor of diabetic medicine at the University of Oxford. "The vast majority will need insulin in the longer term."

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