The future of insulin therapy for patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Insulin therapy has been the mainstay of therapy for patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus for the past 90 years. This trend is likely to continue as new formulations are developed to more closely mimic physiologic insulin secretion and to provide patients who have diabetes with more convenient options for integrating this therapy into their lifestyle. The present article reviews how the role of insulin continues to evolve, from its earlier use in the treatment paradigm (even at first diagnosis) to its role in combination therapy with incretin-based therapies, as well as new formulations that provide more-convenient forms of insulin replacement therapy.