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Insulin Glargine

How Does Insulin Glargine Work?

Insulin glargine is a form of insulin, which is a hormone that is naturally produced by the pancreas. This hormone is important for several functions, such as controlling blood sugar. Insulin helps the cells of your body remove glucose ("sugar") from your bloodstream. This sugar fuels your body's cells, giving them the energy they need to work properly.
Normally, your body is able to maintain proper levels of sugar in your blood and inside your cells. However, in people with type 1 diabetes (and sometimes type 2 diabetes), the pancreas has trouble making insulin. This causes too much sugar to accumulate in the blood.
Too much sugar can also accumulate in the blood if your body has trouble responding to normal levels of insulin, as is common in type 2 diabetes. Over time, high levels of sugar in the blood can lead to serious health problems in the eyes, feet, hands, kidneys, and heart.
You may need to take insulin if your pancreas has trouble making enough insulin, which is the case in people with type 1 diabetes and in some people who have type 2 diabetes.
Insulin glargine is a long-acting insulin medication. Although the medication is a solution (liquid) before injection, once it is injected, it forms small particles that dissolve slowly and evenly over time.
As a long-acting insulin, insulin glargine helps to work as a "basal" insulin, which means that it provides a steady background level of insulin to help control blood sugar throughout the day. For controlling a spike in blood sugar levels after meals, other types of insulins may need to be used in addition to insulin glargine.
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