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Biotech / Medical : Indications -- diabetes -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Miljenko Zuanic who wrote (12)	10/1/2001 1:14:13 PM
From: keokalani'nui	Respond to of 278

Novel insulin preparation targets liver Last Updated: 2001-09-28 10:59:20 EDT (Reuters Health) WESTPORT, CT (Reuters Health) - A novel insulin preparation, hepatic directed vesicle-insulin (HDV-insulin), may prove to be more suitable than regular insulin for aggressive therapy. "The advantages of a hepatospecific insulin are two-fold," Dr. Stephen N. Davis and colleagues from Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, explain in the September/October issue of the Journal of Diabetes and Its Complications. "First increased insulin action at the liver should limit hepatic glucose output while increasing hepatic glucose uptake," they write. "Secondly, improved postprandial glycemic control could be obtained with reduced systemic insulinemia." The investigators note that HPV-insulin was created by "the addition of a well-characterized, specific hepatobiliary target molecule...to a soluble insulin liposome preparation." They compared the effects of a single subcutaneous injection of HDV-insulin or regular insulin administered 30 minutes before a 75-g oral glucose tolerance test in nine patients with type 1 diabetes. Each subject received the opposite type of insulin in an identical protocol 4 weeks later. HDV-insulin significantly lowered glucose levels during the test compared with regular insulin, with a mean reduction of 2.2 mmol/L (p < 0.005). "Plasma levels of insulin and glucagon were equivalent during both series of experiments," according to the paper. The two groups did not differ in terms of blood lactate, glycerol and plasma NEFA during OGTT, the investigators report, noting that this indicates similar peripheral action of the two insulin preparations. Compared with regular insulin, HDV-insulin significantly lowered levels of beta-hydroxybutyrate (p < 0.05), "supporting a preferential hepatic action of the preparation." "HDV-insulin may represent a novel and effective therapeutic agent for reducing postprandial glycemia in insulin-deficient diabetic patients and...this might be achieved without increasing the risk of subsequent hypoglycemia," Dr. Davis and colleagues suggest. J Diabetes Complications 2001;15:227-233. -Westport Newsroom 203 319 2700 Copyright © 2001 Reuters Limited.