Hypoglycemia can be prevented by the new insulin "Degludec" ,finds a new study presented at The Endocrine Society's 94th Annual Meeting in Houston. " (Jothydev’s Diabetes Research Center was also part of several clinical trials with insulin, Degludec.)

Diabetes is an increasingly common disease, and many patients fail to achieve their treatment goals due to a fear of hypoglycemia," said lead investigator Daniel Einhorn, M.D., (medical director at Scripps Whittier Diabetes Institute, and clinical professor of medicine at the University of California San Diego) "This puts them at risk of developing diabetes complications.

More than 3,000 participants were randomly assigned to receive either degludec or glargine once a day for 26 or 52 weeks. Of the total number, 2,899 patients received degludec, and 1,431 were given glargine. Nearly half of all patients on both drugs achieved targeted levels of blood-sugar control.

Incidents of low blood sugar, especially at night-time , were fewer in degludec compared to glargine. Overall, low blood-sugar levels occurred 14 percent less often among degludec patients than among those receiving glargine. At night, low blood sugar occurred 37 percent less often among degludec than glargine recipients.

Sixteen weeks after the study, degludec patients had even fewer incidents of low blood sugar. During this maintenance period, the condition occurred 21 percent less frequently, overall, and 43 percent less often at night. No major complications were reported.

Einhorn said that, "This study suggests that blood glucose can be effectively lowered by degludec, with a lower risk for hypoglycemia compared to currently available insulins." "It is therefore possible that treatment with degludec can improve patient outcomes by limiting the side effects associated with insulin use."