HealthDay Reporter
DUNDAY, March 22, 2021 (HealthDay News) – Daily insulin injections can be a barrier for people living with type 2 diabetes, but a once-a-week insulin pill may be a no-brainer. game changer for those people.
While the research is still at an early stage, the new drug called basal insulin Fc (BIF) is given once a week and appears to be just as effective in controlling on blood sugar (glucose) to degludec insulin, the gold level once a bullet a day.
The once-a-week view is as safe as insulin degludec and may be better at reducing risk for dangerous low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) during the day and at night, the new study showed.
The main benefit of insulin once a week is that more people are willing to adhere to the treatment, said Dr. John Buse, head of endocrinology and director of the Center for Diabetes at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Better compliance prevents diabetes complications, including heart disease, vision loss and kidney problems, he said.
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“It’s 52 injections per year instead of 365 to 700+,” said Buse, who was not involved in the new study. “On the 100th anniversary of the discovery of insulin, it is remarkable to see continued innovation in insulin therapy.”
Both degludec and BIF insulin are types of basal or background insulin. They control blood sugar levels between meals and are released 24 hours a day. Some types of basal insulin are taken twice a day. In contrast, insulin bolus is given after meals and at other times when blood sugar rises. Insulin shots once a week would not negate the need to monitor blood sugar levels and take more insulin as needed.
The 32-week study included nearly 400 people with type 2 diabetes, the most closely linked form of obesity. Participants were assigned to one of three treatment groups: once-weekly BIF injection at one dose of two doses or degludec insulin injection once daily.
Blood sugar control was similar to those who received a weekly bullet and those who took daily pictures as measured by hemoglobin A1C. This gives us a picture of blood sugar over the last two or three months.
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In addition, weekly observations caused significantly lower levels of hypoglycemia.
“Daily insulin concentration is more stable with bulking once a week and improvement appears to lead to less hypoglycemia,” explained the study’s author Dr. Juan Pablo Frias, medical director of the National Research Institute in Los Angeles.
This was a phase 2 study, which means the new drug has a way of going ahead, or if it reaches users. But if things go as planned, it could be available by 2023, Frias said. The once-weekly insulin picture is being developed by Eli Lilly and Co, who funded the new study.
The findings were unveiled Sunday at the prestigious annual meeting of the Endocrine Society. Results presented at initial medical meetings are considered to be published in a peer-reviewed journal.
More research is needed to confirm these conclusions, but weekly perspectives may be particularly important for people with diabetes who have difficulty managing their medications, including the elderly. , those with memory problems and people with physical problems who may be getting away from everyday pictures, said Dr. Deena Adimoolam, a physician in New York and a spokeswoman for the Endocrine Society.
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“Many patients with type 2 diabetes who have insulin-dependent diabetes have a complex drug regimen to follow daily with various uses of insulin, other injectables and oral medications,” said Adimoolam, who involved in the research. “Basal insulin available as an injection once a week would be a much easier option for patients than remembering to take basal insulin every day.”
Buse agreed. “It is heartening to consider the potential that many more people could benefit from this less serious insulin product to maintain good health,” he said.
Find out more
For more about diabetes and its treatments, visit the Endocrine Society.
RESOURCE: Juan Pablo Frias, MD, medical director, National Research Institute, Los Angeles; John B. Buse, MD, PhD, head, Department of Endocrinology, Distinguished Professor Verne S. Caviness, director, Center for Diabetes, director, NC Institute of Translation and Clinical Sciences, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; Deena Adimoolam, MD, endocrinologist, New York City and speaker, Endocrine Society; Endocrine Society Virtual Annual Meeting, March 20-23, 2021