

Re: [IPk] Human v Animal

Where did you read that animal insulin can do the same thing as a pump?  I've
heard of people being allergic to animal insulin or somehow not compatible
with rDNA human insulin, and that those sensitivities/incompatibilities can
affect control in big ways, but I would suggest that very few people would
find their HbA1cs absolutely identical whether they were on one of those
insulin varieties OR the pump.

We know that individuals' own sensitivities to regular, intermediate-, and
long-acting insulins (whether of animal or human origin) are generally more
variable on a day-to-day basis than their sensitivities to short-acting
insulins like Humalog.  That is why Humalog is great in a pump.  I'm sure a
few other people remember using BR (buffered regular) insulin in their pumps
back in the day before Humalog came out.  Though I enjoyed much more
flexibility with my schedule and loved not having to take injections, I still
had to deal with the amount of time regular insulin took to work.  I went low
pretty often when I was learning how to adjust basals and boluses because it
was easy for a bolus to hit its peak at the same time as a basal rate increase
kicked in (I wish I could draw a graph to illustrate that, but you'll have to
use your imagination ;> !).

Really, it has been my experience that medical professionals who don't have
diabetes but do research on it are quick to publish any findings that they
think will get them noticed.  Just looking at the Medscape Diabetes &
Endocrine updates every week or so, I say, "Duuuuuh!" out loud at least once,
and I am by no means a healthcare professional.  Some of the research findings
being published seem facile, but because the scientific method is being
followed (rather than "common sense"), people get their names in journals and
funding bodies think they're clever and original and give them money (let us
hope they put it to good use!).  For instance, how many of us would be
surprised that obesity affects insulin resistance?  Few, I bet, but in a
recent Medscape bulletin (aimed at GPs), that was big news.  The human v.
animal thing was probably based on a study done over a period of some months,
but I would be surprised if it had been, say, a 5-year comparison of HbA1cs of
pumpers on Humalog vs. injectors using animal insulin.  Humalog's not been out
long enough for its long-term benefits to be clear, but I am sure that the
chance to correct BGs FAST is going to help us all over the long haul.

My 2p/$.02,

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