Study: early insulin treatment may stop diabetes progression

LONDON A short course of intensive insulin treatment may delay disease progression in people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, according to a study in The Lancet. Patients who had an initial course of insulin injections did better a year later than those given a short course of oral diabetes drugs.

A second study also published in The Lancet found taking part in diet and exercise programs for six years can prevent or delay diabetes for up to 14 years.

Patients aged 25 to 70 taking part in the trial were given an infusion of insulin, daily insulin injections or oral anti-diabetic tablets. Most of those given insulin were able to meet blood glucose targets in four to five days compared with nine days in those given oral drugs.

After a year, 51 percent of patients given an insulin infusion and 45 percent of those given insulin injections had maintained their good blood glucose levels by sticking to a diet and exercise program. But only 27 percent of those who had initially been treated with oral drugs still had good blood glucose control.

The researchers reported that the early insulin treatment seemed to have restored the function of insulin-producing beta cells in the body. Tests showed the cells had a better response to insulin after treatment and the effect was sustained after a year.