Protamine Insulin in Juvenile Diabetes

The number of published reports on the chemistry, character and clinical observations of protamine insulin are already becoming voluminous. The claims made for this combination by its discovers,1namely, that protamine insulin offers a prolonged pharmacologic action with comparative freedom from hypoglycemic reactions and a subsequent diminution in the number of daily injections required for diabetic control, have been fully confirmed by investigators on this continent.2Scott,3Fisher and Rabinowitch4have recently demonstrated that the addition of zinc to protamine insulin produces an even more prolonged action of the combination on the blood sugar content of both diabetic and nondiabetic subjects and it is suggested by Rabinowitch4that the addition of zinc to the protamine insulin increases the sensitivity of the individual to the injected insulin; he has also demonstrated that the addition of zinc to crystalline and even to the regular commercial insulin produces