Monday, March 17, 2008 Dumaguing: The slim insulin By Dr. Victor Dumaguing To Your Health
THE statistics can no longer be ignored. The American Diabetes Association notes that the prevalence of diabetes rose by five percent annually since 1990. The International Diabetes Federation (IDF) predicts that by year 2025, more than 380 million people would have clinical diabetes. If things continue at this pace, then diabetes will be the worst pandemic the world has ever known.
Aware of this scenario, the medical profession and the pharmaceutical industry worldwide have been working hand-in-hand to provide the best treatment solutions, therapies, care, research, and education programs. Yet, evidently, this is not enough. The general public needs to be educated of the facts, particularly that diabetes can affect anyone at anytime.
Leading the pack in this worthwhile endeavor is Novo Nordisk, with its mission and vision of "changing diabetes" by launching the Changing Diabetes Bus World Tour to raise awareness of diabetes and its social, humanitarian and economic consequences while strongly reminding the populace of the three microvascular complications of diabetes - neuropathy, nephropathy or kidney pathology and retinopathy leading to blindness -- as well as its macrovascular complications -- heart attack and stroke.
A big thank you from both doctors and patients alike go to Novo Nordisk for giving the world Levemir -- insulin detemir. Insulin is the hormone secreted by the beta cells of the islets of Langerhans of the pancreas that facilitates the entry of the blood sugar glucose into the cells especially skeletal muscles, which form 50 percent of the bulk of the human body. Without insulin or with insufficient insulin, there would be hyperglycemia (excess glucose in the blood) and glycosuria (excess glucose in the urine). Insulin, then called isletin was discovered by Dr. Frederick Banting and Dr. Charles Best in 1921, a medical breakthrough that awarded the eminent scientists with a Nobel Prize and invaluable gift to the entire humanity.
Despite its proven efficacy and safety, the IDF noted that at most, only 17 percent of diabetics, mostly type 1 diabetics, are using insulin. During its early years, allergic reactions were common since it was derived from bovine sources. The advent of genetic engineering changed all that, with the introduction of bacteria called Esceherichiae coli. A lot of patients wonder why there is no insulin in oral form like in a capsule or tablet or in a syrup form. The very nature of insulin-protein, makes it susceptible to enzymatic degradation and inactivation by pepsin when it reaches the stomach, thus there is no more active insulin to absorb in the jejunum, where most nutrients and medicines are absorbed.
Another reason for the low-rate of insulin use is the fact that it is injectable -- subcutaneously -- into the abdominal wall, thigh and back of the arms. With all the tedious and cumbersome process of getting cotton, alcohol and disinfecting the site of injection, not to mention the pain, it is understandable why some patients would plead to their doctors to prescribe "anything except insulin."
Fortunately, times have changed, insulin, not only in its formulation but also in its administration. The needles are finer thus less painful and the safety as well as hygienic features incorporated into the injecting device, have made the whole process very convenient and self-treatment possible.
Levemir has all the sterling ideal features of safe, efficacious, modern insulin, plus something that early predecessors did not have, less weight gain.
Predictive is one of the largest observational studies ever conducted in diabetes. It stands for Predictable Results and Experience in Diabetes through Intensification and Control to Target, is a large prospective open-label study involving 35,000 juvenile and adult onset type diabetes patients from more than 20 countries across the world, assessed from 12 to 52 weeks. The study evaluated the safety and efficacy of Levemir when used in clinical practice. The latest results of the ongoing study have shown that Levemir significantly improves blood sugar levels, reduces the risks of the much-dreaded hypoglycemia (sudden drop in blood sugar) and most of all, not associated with the weight gain associated with other insulin treatment.
Levemir, what a refreshing welcome change in insulin treatment!
