Basal Insulin Treatment in Type 2 Diabetes

Insulin glargine is the first 24-h recombinant DNA insulin analog introduced to the market. Substitution of glycine for asparagine and addition of two arginine residues raise the isoelectric point of insulin glargine and result in microprecipitates, delaying absorption from subcutaneous tissue. This delayed absorption result in fairly flat 24-h insulin concentration profiles with no discernible peak. Large, multicenter, randomized, controlled trials in patients with type 2 diabetes show that although NPH insulin and insulin glargine are equally effective in lowering glycosylated hemoglobin (A1c) and fasting blood glucose, there is a clear advantage of insulin glargine over NPH insulin in reducing nocturnal and overall hypoglycemia. Lower risk of hypoglycemia with glargine was also consistently demonstrated by trials comparing insulin glargine and premixed analog insulins. These studies also showed greater reduction in A1c with twice-daily premixed insulins compared with glargine, when insulin glargine was administered without mealtime insulin coverage. Insulin glargine was also compared with another insulin analog, insulin detemir. Trials showed that both insulin analogs are equally effective in lowering A1c and have comparable risk of hypoglycemia. Trials comparing insulin glargine with glucagon-like peptide-1 agonists showed comparable significant reductions in A1c with both regimens. Insulin glargine is well tolerated, has low immunogenicity, reduced risks for acute myocardial infarction, and a lower risk of hypoglycemia compared with NPH insulin in individuals with type 2 diabetes.