1980 Volume 23 Issue 2 Pages 157-163
An insulin suppository, has been prepared which is effective in reducing the plasma glucose levels of normal dogs at a dose as little as 2 U/kg. To evaluate its clinical usefulness, alloxandiabetic dogs with a fasting plasma glucose level of above 200mg/100ml were treated by rectal administration of the insulin suppository at a dose of 20 or 50 U per body twice a day for 6 to 9 days. The results obtained were as follows.
1) In dogs whose mean fasting plasma glucose levels were below 300mg/100ml before treatment, a significant reduction in fasting plasma glucose was observed at a dose of 20 U per body, accompanied by a significant decrease in daily urinary glucose excretion. In dogs whose mean fasting plasma glucose levels were above 300mg/100ml, 50U of insulin suppository were effective in reducing daily urinary glucose excretion. In these dogs, however, the decrease in fasting plasma glucose was not remarkable, although these differences were statistically significant.
2) In a few dogs examined for day-to-day variations in plasma glucose and insulin concentrations in response to rectal administration of the insulin suppository, postprandial hyperglycemia was markedly reduced with a coefficient of variation of 13 to 15%, although the peak values of insulin varied day to day between 50 and 130 μU/m/(the coefficients of variation were 30 to 35%).
3) Quantitative estimates suggested that the effectiveness of about 2 or 5 U/kg of insulin suppository was comparable to that of subcutaneous injection of Actrapid Insulin at a dose of 0.2 or 0.5U/kg.
he above results indicate that the insulin suppository is more effective in lowering the plasma glucose and urinary glucose levels than previously reported oral insulin preparations such as W/O/W insulin emulsions or micelles.
