Diabetics who are unable to produce insulin in their bodies require insulin therapy. Traditional insulin therapy entails regular injections of the hormone, which are often customized according to individual and variable requirements. Beef or pork insulin, made from the pancreatic extracts of cattle or pigs, can be used to treat humans with diabetes. However, in the United States, beef and pork forms of insulin are no longer manufactured, having been discontinued in favour of human insulin production. Modern human insulin treatments are based on recombinant DNA technology. Human insulin may be given as a form that is identical to the natural form found in the body, which acts quickly but transiently (short-acting insulin), or as a form that has been biochemically modified so as to prolong its action for up to 24 hours (long-acting insulin). Another type of insulin acts rapidly, with the hormone beginning to lower blood glucose within 10 to 30 minutes of administration; such rapid-acting insulin was made available in an inhalable form in 2014.

The optimal regimen is one that most closely mimics the normal pattern of insulin secretion, which is a constant low level of insulin secretion plus a pulse of secretion after each meal. This can be achieved by administration of a long-acting insulin preparation once daily plus administration of a rapid-acting insulin preparation with or just before each meal. Patients also have the option of using an insulin pump, which allows them to control variations in the rate of insulin administration. A satisfactory compromise for some patients is twice-daily administration of mixtures of intermediate-acting and short-acting insulin. Patients taking insulin also may need to vary food intake from meal to meal, according to their level of activity; as exercise frequency and intensity increase, less insulin and more food intake may be necessary.

Research into other areas of insulin therapy include pancreas transplantation, beta cell transplantation, implantable mechanical insulin infusion systems, and the generation of beta cells from existing exocrine cells in the pancreas. Patients with type 1 diabetes have been treated by transplantation of the pancreas or of the islets of Langerhans. However, limited quantities of pancreatic tissue are available for transplantation, prolonged immunosuppressive therapy is needed, and there is a high likelihood that the transplanted tissue will be rejected even when the patient is receiving immunosuppressive therapy. Attempts to improve the outcome of transplantation and to develop mechanical islets are ongoing.

Drugs used to control blood glucose levels

There are several classes of oral drugs used to control blood glucose levels, including sulfonylureas, biguanides, and thiazolidinediones. Sulfonylureas, such as glipizide and glimepiride, are considered hypoglycemic agents because they stimulate the release of insulin from beta cells in the pancreas, thus reducing blood glucose levels. The most common side effect associated with sulfonylureas is hypoglycemia (abnormally low blood glucose levels), which occurs most often in elderly patients who have impaired liver or kidney function.

Biguanides, of which metformin is the primary member, are considered antihyperglycemic agents because they work by decreasing the production of glucose in the liver and by increasing the action of insulin on muscle and adipose tissues. A potentially fatal side effect of metformin is the accumulation of lactic acid in blood and tissues, often causing vague symptoms such as nausea and weakness.

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Thiazolidinediones, such as rosiglitazone and pioglitazone, act by reducing insulin resistance of muscle and adipose cells and by increasing glucose transport into these tissues. These agents can cause edema (fluid accumulation in tissues), liver toxicity, and adverse cardiovascular events in certain patients. Furthermore, oral hypoglycemic agents lower mean blood glucose concentrations by only about 50–80 mg per 100 ml (2.8–4.4 mmol per litre), and sensitivity to these drugs tends to decrease with time.

There are several other agents that can be highly effective in the treatment of diabetes. Pramlintide is an injectable synthetic hormone (based on the human hormone amylin) that regulates blood glucose levels by slowing the absorption of food in the stomach and by inhibiting glucagon, which normally stimulates liver glucose production. Exenatide is an injectable antihyperglycemic drug that works similarly to incretins, or gastrointestinal hormones, such as gastric inhibitory polypeptide, that stimulate insulin release from the pancreas. Exenatide has a longer duration of action than incretins produced by the body because it is less susceptible to degradation by an enzyme called dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4). A drug called sitagliptin specifically inhibits DPP-4, thereby increasing levels of naturally produced incretins. Side effects associated with these drugs are often mild, although pramlintide can cause profound hypoglycemia in patients with type 1 diabetes.