Triple Insulin Therapy Helps Diabetics

Patients with type 2 diabetes show improved glucose control using insulin and 2 types of insulin-sensitizing drugs (metformin and troglitazone), without triggering weight gain. The study, which involved 28 participants, compared dual therapy with triple therapy. The results of the study found that control of glucose levels improved with dual therapy and further improved after 4 months of triple therapy. Also, triple drug therapy was linked with a major decrease in total daily insulin dose, reported the authors in Diabetes Care (July 2004).

For the study, the participants initially assigned to take insulin and troglitazone gained an average of 10 pounds after 4 months, but no additional weight was gained when metformin was added. The researchers noted, however, that the participants who took insulin and metformin did not gain weight during the initial 4 months or during the 4 months after troglitazone was added.