Insulin detemir results in less weight gain than NPH insulin when used in basal-bolus therapy for type 2 diabetes mellitus, and this advantage increases with baseline body mass index.

OBJECTIVE: Weight gain during insulin therapy can be a challenging problem in already overweight type 2 diabetes mellitus patients, affecting treatment compliance and long-term prognosis. The analogue insulin detemir has been reported to have a weight-sparing effect compared with other basal insulins. This pooled analysis investigated whether this potential advantage is related to body mass index (BMI) when insulin detemir is used as the basal component of basal-bolus therapy. METHODS: Data were pooled from two randomised, parallel group trials of 22 and 24 weeks' duration, in which 900 insulin-treated patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus had their treatment intensified to basal-bolus therapy. Patients received once- or twice-daily insulin detemir or neutral protamine Hagedorn (NPH) insulin in conjunction with insulin aspart or human soluble insulin at meal times. RESULTS: Patients treated with insulin detemir had minimal weight gain (mean <1 kg), regardless of their BMI at entry (estimated slope -0.032), whereas, in patients treated with NPH insulin, weight gain increased as baseline BMI increased (estimated slope 0.075, p = 0.025). Indeed, NPH insulin-treated patients with the largest BMI (>35 kg/m(2)) gained the most weight (mean of ~2.4 kg). In contrast, insulin detemir-treated patients with a BMI >35 kg/m(2) lost weight (mean of ~ -0.5 kg). Glycaemic control was similar with the two treatments. CONCLUSION: Insulin detemir may provide a clinical advantage in terms of reduced weight gain in the treatment of overweight patients with type 2 diabetes.

Efficacy and safety of insulin degludec in a flexible dosing regimen vs insulin glargine in patients with type 1 diabetes (BEGIN: Flex T1): a 26-week randomized, treat-to-target trial with a 26-week extension.

OBJECTIVE: This study investigated the efficacy and safety of insulin degludec (IDeg) once daily (OD), varying injection timing day to day in subjects with type 1 diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: This 26-week, open-label, treat-to-target, noninferiority trial compared IDeg forced flexible (Forced-Flex) OD (given in a fixed schedule with a minimum 8 and maximum 40 hours between doses) with IDeg or insulin glargine (IGlar) given at the same time daily OD. In the 26-week extension, all IDeg subjects were transferred to a free-flexible (Free-Flex) regimen, which allowed any-time-of-day dosing, and compared with subjects continued on IGlar. RESULTS: After 26 treatment weeks, mean glycosylated hemoglobin was reduced with IDeg Forced- Flex (-0.40%), IDeg (-0.41%), and IGlar (-0.58%). IDeg Forced-Flex noninferiority was achieved. Fasting plasma glucose reductions were similar with IDeg Forced-Flex and IGlar but greater with IDeg (-2.54 mmol/L) than IDeg Forced-Flex (-1.28 mmol/L) (P = .021). At week 52, IDeg Free-Flex subjects had similar glycosylated hemoglobin but greater fasting plasma glucose reductions than IGlar subjects (-1.07 mmol/L) (P = .005). Confirmed hypoglycemia rates (plasma glucose <3.1 mmol/L or severe hypoglycemia) were similar at weeks 26 and 52. Nocturnal confirmed hypoglycemia was lower with IDeg Forced-Flex vs IDeg (37%; P = .003) and IGlar (40%; P = .001) at week 26 and 25% lower with IDeg Free-Flex vs IGlar (P = .026) at week 52. CONCLUSIONS: IDeg can be administered OD at any time of day, with injection timing varied without compromising glycemic control or safety vs same-time-daily IDeg or IGlar. This may improve basal insulin adherence by allowing injection-time adjustment according to individual needs.