AIMS: It was decided to demonstrate by the present observations to which extent beneficial long-term effects on metabolic control, body weight and microalbuminuria can be attained by applying intensive insulin therapy (IIT) to type 2 diabetic patients, particularly when using insulin lispro. METHODS: In our observational study, clinical data were evaluated during 6, 12 and 36 months after participation in our structured inpatient insulin treatment and teaching programme in 25 patients with conventional insulin therapy (CT), in 10 patients with IIT using human normal insulin and in 15 patients with IIT using insulin lispro who all could be followed for 3 years in our outpatient diabetic clinic. RESULTS: In the CT-treated patients, HbA1c decreased from 10.2 +/- 0.4% to 7.6 +/- 0.2% (average +/- SEM) after 3 years. Body weight increased from 27.8 +/- 0.9 kg/m2 to 28.6 +/- 0.9 kg/m2, insulin dose increased from 29 +/- 3 U/day to 48 +/- 5 U/day (all p < 0.05), urinary albumin concentration was only transiently reduced. In the IIT-treated patients using human normal insulin, HbA1c fell from 10.6 +/- 0.8% to 7.9 +/- 0.5%, body weight increased from 27.8 +/- 1.4 kg/m2 to 29.8 +/- 1.3 kg/m2, urinary albumin concentration was reduced from 26 +/- 10 mg/l to 13 +/- 3 mg/l (all p < 0.05). Insulin dose increased only slightly from 57 +/- 6 U/day to 63 +/- 7 U/day. In the IIT-treated patients using insulin lispro HbA1c fell from 8.4 +/- 0.5% to 6.7 +/- 0.3%, body weight increased from 27.6 +/- 1.0 kg/m2 to 28.7 +/- 1.3 kg/m2, insulin dose from 36 +/- 5 U/day to 50 +/- 7 U/day, urinary albumin concentration was reduced from 23 +/- 4 mg/l to 13 +/- 4 mg/l (all p < 0.05). Blood pressure remained uninfluenced by insulin therapy. CONCLUSION: In our patients, we observed a beneficial long-term effect on metabolic control of IIT-treatment using insulin lispro, which was evident over the complete 3-year observation period, together with an only moderate increase in insulin dose and a clinically acceptable increase in body weight, but a remarkable reduction of microalbuminuria. Thus, clinical outcome was superior to that in patients treated with CT or IIT using human normal insulin.
AIMS: It was decided to demonstrate by the present observations to which extent beneficial long-term effects on metabolic control, body weight and microalbuminuria can be attained by applying intensive insulin therapy (IIT) to type 2 diabeticpatients, particularly when using insulin lispro. METHODS: In our observational study, clinical data were evaluated during 6, 12 and 36 months after participation in our structured inpatient insulin treatment and teaching programme in 25 patients with conventional insulin therapy (CT), in 10 patients with IIT using human normal insulin and in 15 patients with IIT using insulin lispro who all could be followed for 3 years in our outpatientdiabetic clinic. RESULTS: In the CT-treated patients, HbA1c decreased from 10.2 +/- 0.4% to 7.6 +/- 0.2% (average +/- SEM) after 3 years. Body weight increased from 27.8 +/- 0.9 kg/m2 to 28.6 +/- 0.9 kg/m2, insulin dose increased from 29 +/- 3 U/day to 48 +/- 5 U/day (all p < 0.05), urinary albumin concentration was only transiently reduced. In the IIT-treated patients using human normal insulin, HbA1c fell from 10.6 +/- 0.8% to 7.9 +/- 0.5%, body weight increased from 27.8 +/- 1.4 kg/m2 to 29.8 +/- 1.3 kg/m2, urinary albumin concentration was reduced from 26 +/- 10 mg/l to 13 +/- 3 mg/l (all p < 0.05). Insulin dose increased only slightly from 57 +/- 6 U/day to 63 +/- 7 U/day. In the IIT-treated patients using insulin lispro HbA1c fell from 8.4 +/- 0.5% to 6.7 +/- 0.3%, body weight increased from 27.6 +/- 1.0 kg/m2 to 28.7 +/- 1.3 kg/m2, insulin dose from 36 +/- 5 U/day to 50 +/- 7 U/day, urinary albumin concentration was reduced from 23 +/- 4 mg/l to 13 +/- 4 mg/l (all p < 0.05). Blood pressure remained uninfluenced by insulin therapy. CONCLUSION: In our patients, we observed a beneficial long-term effect on metabolic control of IIT-treatment using insulin lispro, which was evident over the complete 3-year observation period, together with an only moderate increase in insulin dose and a clinically acceptable increase in body weight, but a remarkable reduction of microalbuminuria. Thus, clinical outcome was superior to that in patients treated with CT or IIT using human normal insulin.