
June 28, 2001
Insulin, Insulin Analogs
Question from Huntsville, Alabama, USA:
I know the clinical studies were done to compare Lantus (long acting) to NPH (intermediate acting). Wouldn’t the more pertinent study be to compare a long acting (Lantus) insulin to a long acting (Lente or Ultralente) insulin? Can you tell me the advantages/disadvantages of Lantus as compared to Lente or Ultralente?
Answer:
There are studies that compare Lantus (insulin glargine) to Ultralente. The most important differences for Lantus, compared to all other insulins are the time course (more flat) and the activity curve (more predictable). Lantus is flatter than both U and NPH. It is also more predictable, that is, more likely to work the same from day to day. That unpredictability of the older insulins is a major problem. We can’t know how it will work from day to day. Lantus seems better, but only time will truly tell.
LD