Insulin Pharmacology

What is a disorder of the endocrine pancreas and is characterized by severely impaired carbohydrate and lipid metabolism?

diabetes mellitus

What are the most common types of diabetes in humans?

Type 1 and Type 2

What kind of relationship do insulin and glucagon have?

homeostatic

What is a reduced or absent insulin production?

insulinopenia

What is a reduced or absent insulin action?

insulin resistance

What produces insulin?

beta cells of pancreas

What is insulin?

a hormone

Do natural and pharmaceutic insulins have identical modes of action?

Yes

What is the immediate action when insulin binds to its receptor?

activates glucose intake by the cell

What are the three main tissues/ organs affected by insulin or lack of insulin?

liver

skeletal muscle

adipose tissue

What is used to control blood glucose levels?

insulin

What is the treatment approach of hyperglycemia?

hormone replacement

Which type of insulin is isolated from cattle and pig pancreas?

natural insulin

Does the U.S commercialize natural insulin?

No

Why does the U.S not use natural insulin?

the insulin is contaminated with other hormones that will cause an autoimmune response which is not favorable

What type of insulin is human insulin that is produced by genetically altered bacteria or yeast?

recombinant insulin

Which type of insulin is ALL insulin for humans?

recombinant insulin

What affects the stability and absorption rate of insulin?

the chemical form of insulin

Can insulin be given orally? Why?

No, because it would be rapidly absorbed before having a therapeutic effect

How do we make insulin last longer?

by adding Zn cation to an insulin aggregation causing insulin hexamers to form which is a stable crystal that can be gradually absorbed

What is the name of the classic legacy drug used as insulin treatment?

Novolin

Protamine and zinc

What is the name of the insulin altered to achieve specific pharmacologic actions?

synthetic insulin

How can we alter the duration of action of insulin in synthetic insulins?

by a few changes in the amino acid sequence can be the difference between a short acting and a prolong action of insulin

What is the most common drug to have dosing error due to lack of understanding for dosing the drug?

insulin

What are the 4 characteristics that vary between each insulin formulation?

Onset time

Peak concentration

Duration

Molecular and chemical characteristics

What is the main contributor to administrator misuse because of lack of understanding to properly mix the solution before use?

suspension insulin

How is the concentration of insulin measured?

in units

U100=100 units per ml

What are highly similar to an original insulin product with zero clinically meaningful differences between the two insulin products and considered generic insulin?

Biosimilar Insulin

Is insulin a drug or a biologic?

insulin has the features of a biologic but the FDA ruled it a drug before the rules of biologic classification were in place

What are the most common side effects of insulin therapy?

Hypoglycemia

Weight gain