The first use of insulin in 1922 began a new era in the management and survival of patients with type 1 diabetes. Before 1922, patients with this condition were placed on a starvation diet and survived only a few months. Nearly a century later, insulin remains the dominant treatment for type 1 diabetes, is used in gestational diabetes and increasingly in type 2 diabetes. This article focuses on insulin treatment for adult diabetic patients in general practice. It will explore the effect of insulin and the role it has in diabetes, the preparations available, recommended regimens and some challenges with insulin treatment.
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