Because both are created in a laboratory, the only difference is in price and how long they stay in your body.
The discovery of insulin in 1921 was a huge breakthrough in medical science, as it transformed a rare but virtually always fatal disease (type 1 diabetes) into a perfectly manageable condition.
While the prevalence of type 1 diabetes has not changed significantly since then, the prevalence of type 2 diabetes has increased globally during the last 50 years. The vast majority of individuals with type 2 diabetes can be treated initially with oral medications; however, some will require insulin as time goes on. As a result, to satisfy the rising demand, the production of various types and forms of insulin has increased.
What Exactly Is Human Insulin?
Insulin is a peptide hormone, which means it is made up of amino acids (protein building blocks) linked together in a long chain. Human insulin contains a total of 51 amino acids. Other species have the same total number of amino acids for insulin as humans, but the individual amino acids vary. As a result, there is a “human” type of insulin as well as non-human ones such as “dog” or “pig.”
Insulin was discovered and purified from the pancreas of dogs before being injected into humans. We now have the technology to make insulin in a lab that is identical to our “human” form. “Human” insulin is lab-made insulin that has the same amino acid sequence as the insulin produced by our bodies.
Human Insulin Types
Human insulins all have the same chemical structure. Human insulin comes in a variety of forms, each with its own set of chemicals to decrease or increase the concentration of insulin released. However, all human insulins share the same amino acid sequence.
Insulin on a regular basis
Regular insulin is so-called because it has the same sequence as the native form of insulin produced by your body. It is the “regular” insulin produced by your body. This form of insulin is refined and suspended in a zinc solution to keep it effective. Zinc aids in the binding of insulin for utilisation in the body. Regular insulin is a short-acting insulin that is usually used to treat mealtime hyperglycemia (high blood sugar).
U500 Insulin and NPH Insulin
NPH insulin (Neutral Protamine Hagedorn) is created when ordinary insulin is suspended in a chemical called protamine. NPH insulin is a modified form of ordinary insulin. Because the protamine suspension allows for delayed insulin release after injection, the NPH insulin can provide longer-term metabolic regulation. NPH insulin has a half-life of 10 to 14 hours.
U-500 insulin is a highly concentrated (five times stronger) variant of ordinary insulin that can be used to treat people with high insulin demand and substantial insulin resistance.
What Exactly Is Analogue Insulin?
Analogue insulins are highly identical to human insulin, but one or two amino acids have been altered. Analogue insulin formulations have been altered to alter how quickly and slowly they act after injection. Lispro, glulisine, and aspart are examples of short-acting analogue insulins. Long-acting analogue insulins include glargine and detemir.
How Is Human and Analogue Insulin Made?
All current insulins are manufactured in a laboratory using a technique known as recombinant protein expression, in which a microbe such as bacteria or yeast is cultured specifically for the purpose of manufacturing insulin. These cultured organisms are subsequently killed, and the insulin is purified using a variety of methods to guarantee that it is sterile and safe. The concentrations are checked to verify that they remain consistent from batch to batch.
Human or analogue insulin, which is more effective in terms of efficacy.
Studies comparing NPH-regular regimens to glargine-lispro regimens discovered that analogue insulins give tighter blood sugar control with fewer hypoglycemia. In a clinical investigation, very long-acting analogue insulins, such as degludec, were demonstrated to have a lower risk of hypoglycemia than insulin glargine. However, all forms of insulin are efficient at lowering blood sugar levels.
NPH and normal insulin are sometimes superior than analogue insulins. It all relies on the length of action and the purpose for using insulin. Consult your doctor to determine which insulin combination is best for you.
Choosing the Right Insulin
The duration of action necessary and the person’s risk of low blood sugar, among other factors, determine whether “human” insulin or analogue insulin should be used. (NPH insulin frequently causes low blood sugar, especially during the night.)
To meet the body’s insulin requirements, people with type 1 diabetes may be started on a single daily injection of a long-acting insulin, such as glargine. In addition to long-acting insulin, some patients require shorter-acting insulin to cope with high blood sugar after a meal. This is known as multiple daily injections, or MDI, if you take insulin via injection.
Type 2 diabetes patients who require insulin frequently require a single daily dosage of long-acting insulin. However, when the illness worsens and pancreas function deteriorates, individuals may need to take short-acting insulin with their meals as well.
Because regular insulin was formerly the only insulin available, all patients were treated with a mix of NPH and normal insulin. Newer analogue insulins, on the other hand, have a faster time to onset and a shorter duration of action. Quick-acting analogue insulins are expected to mirror the typical mealtime reaction to blood sugar rises better than ordinary insulin, and hence manage blood sugar better. Regular insulin and NPH insulin, on the other hand, remain by far the most affordable insulin choices.
What Happens If You Have an Insulin Pump?
An insulin pump can technically accept any form of insulin. In practise, however, short-acting analogue insulins like lispro or aspart are far and away the most routinely utilised. Because the insulin pump is constantly delivering little doses of insulin every five to fifteen minutes, the shortest duration of action insulin is preferred. Otherwise, you risk having insulin build up over time, resulting in low blood sugar.
A person with a high level of insulin resistance may be advised to use U500 insulin in the pump in some specific conditions, although this is unusual and requires close monitoring by the individual’s health care team.
Our Outlook –
How are we able to Treat Diabetes Completely?
“Madhumeha” is the term for Diabetes in Ayurveda, which means ‘Sweet urine’. The manifestation of diabetes is through thirst or urination. According to Ayurveda, due to accumulation of Vata Dosha. Vata dosha accumulates in the large intestine and travels to the pancreas, which hampers its functioning.
Sometimes, Pitta Dosha also leads to diabetes. This is when Pitta gets accumulated in the small intestine before moving to the liver and may cause damage to pancreas. As the main constituent of Pitta is Agni, it burns out pancreas leading to Diabetes.
If the above things are taken into consideration, the treatment of Diabetes in Ayurveda starts with proper cleansing of the body and balancing of doshas. The treatment includes herbal combinations that are prepared based on individual Prakruti and Vikruti analysis. Ie. The treatment is based on a person’s body composition & which dosha is dominant. The treatments like Dhara, Udwarthanam, Thalam, etc are followed to reverse diabetes. The treatment also includes Panchakarma & Yoga procedures to address the root cause of disease. We have seen many patients successfully reversing Diabetes and now living a healthy life.
Unlike other treatment procedures that jump straight to symptom management, we address the root-cause of the disease. Our treatment for Diabetes has proved to achieve a near cure and symptom-free state. We focus on diet, use of potent herbs, meditation, massage with herbal oils and yoga. These classical ayurveda practices have proven & shown sustained results in our Diabetes Treatment.
The author, Dr. Soumya Hullannavar is a Lead Ayurveda Endocrine Specialist at Diabetes Reversal Clinics & EliteAyurveda Clinics. With over 15 years of experience in treating endocrine & diabetes cases
Visit diabetesreversal.clinic for additional details.
