MONDAY, April 16 (HealthDay News) -- The rapidly-acting insulin analog, insulin aspart, is safe and effective for postprandial glycemic control in pregnant women and may perform better than human insulin, according to a report in the April issue of Diabetes Care.
Elisabeth R. Mathiesen, M.D., D.M.S.C., of Rigshospitalet in Copenhagen, Denmark, and colleagues conducted a randomized trial of insulin aspart (IAsp) or human insulin in 322 women with type 1 diabetes who were currently pregnant or planning a pregnancy.
Postprandial serum glucose levels were lower in the IAsp group at the end of the first and third trimesters, and IAsp reduced mean plasma glucose levels 90 minutes after breakfast compared with human insulin. The risk for major nocturnal hypoglycemia was reduced by 52 percent, although the results did not reach significance. Hemoglobin A1C levels in the second and third trimester were comparable in both treatment groups.
"These data suggest that IAsp is at least as safe and effective as human insulin when used as mealtime insulin in a basal-bolus regimen with NPH insulin in pregnant women with type 1 diabetes and has the potential to offer some clinical benefits in terms of postprandial glucose control," the authors wrote.
The trial was supported by Novo Nordisk, and some of the authors have received compensation for lectures, consulting, or other activities.
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