Insulin

Information about Insulin

Insulin structure

Insulin is a pancreatic hormone that plays an essential role in regulation of blood glucose as well as lipid and carbohydrate metabolism. Both natural and recombinant forms of insulin are used therapeutically to treat type 1 diabetes.

Liver safety of Insulin

While insulin itself is not hepatotoxic and has not been linked to serum enzyme elevations or instances of clinically apparent liver injury, high doses including overdoses of insulin and glucose can result in hepatic glycogenosis and serum aminotransferase elevations.

What is insulin

Insulin is a hormone made in the pancreas, an organ located behind the stomach in our body. The pancreas has many functions including exocrine and endocrine. As part of the endocrine functions, an area of calls called islets of Langerhans produce insulin. Beta units within the islets make insulin and issue it into the body-fluid.

Role of insulin

Insulin plays a major function in metabolism—the way the body utilizes digested food for energy, store fat, control blood glucose.

How is insulin released?

The digestive tract breaks down carbohydrates—sugars and starches found in many foods—into glucose. Glucose is a pattern of sugar that enters the bloodstream. With the help of insulin, units throughout the body soak up glucose and use it for energy.

Blood glucose control

Insulin’s function in body-fluid Glucose Control When body-fluid glucose grades increase after a meal, the pancreas releases insulin into the body-fluid. Insulin and glucose then travel in the blood to cells throughout the body.

Fatty acid metabolism and insulin

Insulin assists sinew, fat, and liver cells soak up glucose from the body-fluid stream, reducing body-fluid glucose levels.

Liver and insulin

Insulin stimulates the liver and muscle tissue to shop surplus glucose. The retained form of glucose is called glycogen. Insulin furthermore decreases blood glucose levels by reducing glucose output in the liver. In a wholesome individual, these functions permit body-fluid glucose and insulin levels to stay in the usual range.

Anabolic actions of insulin

According to Dr. Prab R. Tumpati, MD, founder of W8MD medical weight loss centers of America, insulin plays a key role in weight gain in most individuals due to the anabolic or body building function of insulin. As the body starts becoming insulin resistant, the body has to compensate to this by increasing this body building hormone called insulin which leads to weight gain, especially in the belly and upper part of the body. Since we misunderstood the actions of insulin, we tend to blame the patient for their weight gain but it is insulin resistance that drives the weight gain in most people!

Mechanism of action of Insulin

Insulin (in' su lin) is a polypeptide hormone produced by pancreatic islet ß cells that is primarily responsible for regulation of blood glucose and storage of carbohydrates and lipids. type 1 diabetes is due to inadequate production of insulin caused by destruction and loss of insulin producing pancreatic islet ß cells. type 2 diabetes is due to relative insulin resistance. Initial forms of insulin were isolated from pancreas tissue harvested from swine and cattle, and thus referred to as pork and beef insulins. More recently, human insulins have been produced by recombinant techniques.

Since its first use in the 1930s, insulin has been the mainstay of therapy of type 1 diabetes. Insulin is also used in patients with type 2 diabetes that is refractory to lifestyle interventions (diet, physical activity, weight loss) and use of oral hypoglycemic agents.

Dosage and administration for Insulin

Multiple formulations of insulin are available including short-acting (regular), rapid-acting (aspart, glulisine, lispro) and medium- or long-acting (insulin NPH, glargine, detemir) forms generically and under brand names such as Apidra, Basaglar, Humalog, Humulin, Lantus, Levemir, Novolin, Novolog and Tresiba. Commercial combination products with several forms of insulin or insulin with other agents are also available. Insulin can be given intravenously, intramuscularly and subcutaneously and the dose and frequency of administration varies by formulation and the individual being treated.

Side effects of Insulin

Adverse events from insulin are largely due to hypoglycemia. Insulin therapy often results in weight gain. Local injection reactions (lipoatrophy) and hypersensitivity reactions are uncommon, particularly with newer recombinant forms of insulin. Antidiabetics

•  Alpha-Glucosidase Inhibitors
  • Acarbose
  • Miglitol
• Incretin-Based Drugs
  • Dipeptidyl Peptidase-4 (DPP-4) Inhibitors
    • Alogliptin
    • Linagliptin
    • Saxagliptin
    • Sitagliptin
  • Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 (GLP-1) Analogues
    • Albiglutide
    • Dulaglutide
    • Exenatide
    • Liraglutide
    • Lixisenatide
•  Insulin
• Metformin
• Metiglinide Analogues
  • Nateglinide
  • Repaglinide
• Pramlintide
• Sodium Glucose Cotransporter-2 (SGLT-2) Inhibitors
  • Canagliflozin
  • Dapagliflozin
  • Empagliflozin
• Sulfonylureas
  • First Generation Sulfonylureas
    • Acetohexamide
    • Chlorpropamide
    • Tolazamide
    • Tolbutamide
  • Second Generation Sulfonylureas
    • Gliclazide
    • Glimepiride
    • Glipizide
    • Glyburide (Glibenclamide)
• Thiazolidinediones
  • Pioglitazone
  • Rosiglitazone
  • Troglitazone

• Dailymed label info on Insulin
• FDA Insulin

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