Abstract
To assess the clinical usefulness of insulin detemir, we observed HbA1c, BMI, insulin dose, and hypoglycemia frequency during the 6 months after subjects with type 2 diabetes switched from insulin NPH to insulin detemir with intensive insulin therapy. In 63 subjects, the daily insulin detemir dose increased significantly at 6 months compared to baseline, whereas the daily insulin aspart dose decreased. HbA1c was reduced over the 6 months, i.e., 8.01±1.36 % at baseline, 7.81±1.39 % at 3 months, p=0.02 vs baseline; 7.78±1.41 % at 6 months, p=0.08 vs baseline. BMI also decreased significantly from 24.1±3.5 to 23.6±3.3 kg/m2, p=0.034, during the 6 months after switching. The frequency of hypoglycemia induced by insulin detemir was significantly lower than that induced by NPH insulin, i.e., 1.04±1.28/month and 0.61±1.03/month, p=0.031. These results strongly suggest that insulin detemir is useful as basal insulin of intensive insulin therapy in those with type 2 diabetes.
