Diabetes Management

Oral hypoglycemic agents and insulin therapy are of remarkable interest in the diabetes mellitus management. Unfortunately, all these compounds are covered up by adverse effects arising from their use in literature.  This should evoke the interest of scientists particularly in the fields of diabetology and pharmacology to engage in efforts to develop safer but equally effective agents. 

 In these efforts too, biotechnology and genetic engineering are envisioned to help. 

If fasting glucose levels reach 1600mg / L, pharmacological treatment of diabetes mellitus is suggested. The oral glucose-lowering drugs are used to treat type II diabetes mellitus. 

Oral therapy is usually recommended for any type II diabetic in which diet and exercise fail to perform adequate glycaemic regulation. While initial responses may be strong, oral hypoglycaemic agents in a good number of diabetics lose their effectiveness. 

Insulin is applied to an oral drug when the glycemic regulation at full doses of oral medications is suboptimal. 

For patients with newly diagnosed type II diabetes some diabetologists tend to start insulin therapy. The common side effects of insulin therapy are weight gain and hypoglycemia. 

Heavy treatment with insulin also brings an increased risk of atherogenesis.

 A multiple injection regimen, in which normal or lispro insulin is changed before each meal and intermediate-acting insulin provided at bedtime, is commonly used to provide more flexibility and to achieve better glycemic control. 

Patients add or subtract normal or lispro insulin (called compensatory doses) from their specific dose of insulin in response to the immediate level of blood glucose before the meal with a multiple injection protocol.