Differential effects of insulin detemir and neutral protamine Hagedorn (NPH) insulin on hepatic glucose production and peripheral glucose uptake during hypoglycaemia in type 1 diabetes

What Was Tested

This randomized controlled trial paper looks at Insulin Detemir and NPH Insulin (isophane).

Who Took Part

The study group was 18 participants.

During the ensuing gradual development of hypoglycaemia cognitive function and levels of counter-regulatory hormones were measured and rates of endogenous glucose production and peripheral glucose uptake continuously evaluated using a primed constant infusion of [6,6-(2)H(2)]glucose.

How the Study Was Run

In design terms this was a randomized, double-blind and crossover study.

Because people in this Insulin Detemir study were split into groups at random, differences between the groups are less likely to reflect who happened to join each one.

Blinding on both sides kept the participants and researchers unaware of who received Insulin Detemir.

In the crossover set-up each of the participants took both Insulin Detemir and the comparison in turn, acting as their own control.

What Was Measured

PubMed files the paper under topics including Blood Glucose, Blood Pressure, Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1, Epinephrine, Glucose, Growth Hormone and Heart Rate.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized, double-blind and crossover study of Insulin Detemir and NPH Insulin (isophane) in 18 participants.

With fewer than 40 people, it is a small study, so it is better read as an early signal for further research than as a settled answer.

Its findings take up roughly 4 sentences of the abstract and are left out here on purpose; the source paper is the place to read them.

The publication is from 2009 (Diabetologia), a journal based in Germany.

More context: the Insulin Detemir compound page and the NPH Insulin (isophane) compound page, all human trials.