Time Action of Globin Insulin Compared With That of Protamine Insulin Modifications

IN THE routine daily treatment of diabetes mellitus with insulin the depot insulins have become almost universally accepted as standard because of their ability to maintain smoother control of diabetes with fewer hypodermic injections. They have almost completely replaced the ordinary solutions of the hormone, regular or plain insulin and crystalline insulin, in the day by day maintenance therapy of diabetes. The ordinary soluble preparations of the hormone have such an intense and brief action that they are unsuitable for maintenance therapy by themselves. Their use is confined chiefly to the treatment of emergencies in diabetes in which prompt action is required, to augmentation of the slow action of depot insulins when this is desirable, to treatment of occasional patients who are allergic or unresponsive to the depot insulins and to induction of shock in psychotherapy. How do the various depot insulins compare with one another and what are the