Improved postprandial glycemic control with insulin aspart: A randomized double-blind cross-over trial in type 1 diabetes

OBJECTIVE - Insulin aspart is a novel rapid-acting insulin analog. This study was performed to compare the postprandial serum glucose control after administration of insulin aspart with that of unmodified human insulin. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS - The trial was a double-blind double-dummy injection three-way cross-over study in 22 subjects with type 1 diabetes. Insulin aspart was injected subcutaneously immediately before the meal, and human insulin was injected subcutaneously 30 min before the meal or immediately before the meal. RESULTS - The postprandial glucose control as assessed by the excursion of serum glucose was superior with insulin aspart as compared with that with human insulin injected immediately before or 30 min before a meal (891 +/- 521 vs. 1,311 +/- 512 vs. 1,106 +/- 571 mmol . l(-1). min(-1), P < 0.0001 and P < 0.02). This was accompanied by a significantly lower glucose maximum concentration [C-max(SG)] for insulin aspart than for human insulin injected immediately before the meal (13.5 +/- 3.5 vs. 16.4 +/- 3.4 mmol/l, P < 0.001). Insulin aspart was, on average, absorbed twice as fast as human insulin, with median time to insulin aspart C-max(ins) on the order of 40 min, and the maximum concentration was approximately twice as high for insulin aspart. The relative bioavailability of the insulins indicated a similar extent of absorption. Insulin aspart was well tolerated. CONCLUSIONS - This study demonstrates the ability of insulin aspart to improve postprandial glucose control when compared with human insulin.