A comparison of insulin aspart and regular insulin in elderly patients with type 2 diabetes

Aim: To evaluate the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties of insulin aspart in elderly patients with diabetes. Methods: Studies were conducted in elderly patients with diabetes (n = 19, M/F 10/9, age 72 ± 1 years, BMI 27 ± 1 kg/m2, HbA1c 6.4 ± 0.1%, diabetes duration < 5 years). Nine patients were treated with metformin, and ten with diet. Subjects underwent 2 studies in random order. In one study, 0.1 u/kg of novolin R (Novo Nordisk, Copenhagen, Denmark) was administered at 7:30 am. Thirty minutes later, at time 0, subjects were given 235 ml of ensure with fibre. The other study was identical to the first except that insulin aspart (Novorapid, Novo Nordisk, Copenhagen, Denmark) 0.1 u/kg was given at time zero. Insulin and glucose valuves were measured as at regular intervals. Results: Insulin and glucose profiles were nearly identical with insulin aspart and regular human insulin. The AUC for glucose (aspart: 6.9 ± 0.1 mM; regular: 7.1 ± 0.1 mM, p = ns) and insulin (aspart: 335 ± 30 pM; regular: 330 ± 25 pM, p = ns) did not differ between groups. Conclusions: Insulin aspart appears to act similarly to regular human insulin in elderly patients with type 2 diabetes.