INSULINS

Insulin has been the cornerstone of diabetes therapy for over 75 years . Despite this long experience, insulin therapy remains as much distin guished by its limitations as its successes. Given the variety of insu lin preparations that are currently available and the rapid rate of ch ange in the principles of diabetes management, an in depth knowledge o f the pharmacology of insulin is essential to providers who care for p atients with diabetes. This article reviews the pharmacology of the cu rrently available animal and human insulins, as well as the newly avai lable human insulin analog, insulin lispro. The clinical aspects of in sulin allergy and potential future advances in insulin analog developm ent and routes of insulin administration are also explored.