insulin-glulisine and Drug-Hypersensitivity

Insulin allergy is a rare yet severe side effect of exogenous insulin use. Management typically involves use of alternative antihyperglycaemic agents, symptom control with antihistamines, use of different insulin formulations, and induction of tolerance with incremental doses of insulin. This treatment regimen is not always successful, and the use of omalizumab, an anti-IgE monoclonal antibody, has been used to induce tolerance to insulin.. G.M. is a 62-year-old man with Type 2 diabetes mellitus. His condition was not optimized on oral agents, and insulin therapy was required. G.M. had anaphylaxis to insulin NPH, and subsequent skin-prick testing was positive to insulin aspart, insulin NPH, insulin glulisine, insulin detemir, regular insulin, insulin glargine 100 units/ml and insulin glargine 300 units/ml. He received incremental doses of several insulin formulations; however, he experienced diffuse urticaria preventing optimal glycaemic control. Three successful cases have been described in the literature of omalizumab inducing tolerance to exogenous insulin; therefore, G.M. was started on omalizumab. He subsequently tolerated treatment doses of insulin glulisine and insulin detemir with no allergic reactions and with improvement in glycaemic control.. To our knowledge, this is the first described case of allergy to insulin glargine 300 units/ml and reiterates the potential use of omalizumab in insulin allergy. Further research is warranted to determine if omalizumab should be considered standard of care in difficult-to-treat insulin hypersensitivity.

Topics: Anaphylaxis; Anti-Allergic Agents; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2; Drug Hypersensitivity; Humans; Insulin; Insulin Aspart; Insulin Detemir; Insulin Glargine; Insulin, Isophane; Male; Middle Aged; Omalizumab

Data on the safety of insulin glulisine for type 1 diabetes are limited in paediatric populations. The European post-marketing Observational prospective Cohort study of children with type 1 diabetes treated with APIDRA(®) (OCAPI) study evaluated the safety of insulin glulisine in children aged 6-12 years in real-life clinical practice, with a particular focus on the 6-8 years age group.. OCAPI was an international, multicentre, observational, non-interventional, prospective cohort study, in which 94 participants with type 1 diabetes (6-8 years age group: n=31; 9-12 years age group: n=63) received insulin glulisine for 6 months under normal, local conditions. The primary objective was the incidence of severe hypoglycaemia in all participants.. Overall incidence of severe hypoglycaemia was 6.6 events per 100 persons/year (7.2 and 6.3 events per 100 persons/year in the 6-8 and 9-12 years age groups, respectively). 12 participants (all aged 9-12 years) experienced transient injection-site reactions. No systematic hypersensitivity reactions were reported. Only 1 participant (9-12 years age group) experienced a serious class-effect risk possibly related to insulin glulisine (severe hypoglycaemia requiring an Emergency Department visit). Glycated haemoglobin levels did not change markedly throughout the study, and were inversely proportional to the risk of hypoglycaemia.. Insulin glulisine has a good safety profile in children with type 1 diabetes aged 6-12 years, with generally low rates of severe hypoglycaemia and few adverse reactions. These results are encouraging for its use in paediatric populations.

Topics: Child; Cohort Studies; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1; Drug Hypersensitivity; Female; Humans; Hypoglycemia; Hypoglycemic Agents; Incidence; Insulin; Male; Prospective Studies

Insulin glulisine (glulisine), a human insulin analogue with a rapid-acting time-action profile, has been developed to fulfil the mealtime (bolus) insulin requirement in patients with diabetes. The aim of this multinational, multi-centre, controlled, open-label, randomized, parallel-group study was to compare the efficacy and safety of insulin glulisine (glulisine) to that of insulin lispro (lispro) in adults diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. Of the 683 patients randomized, 672 received treatment (339 patients received glulisine, 333 patients received lispro). Over the 26-week study, a similar reduction in mean HbA1c occurred in both groups (adjusted mean change from baseline -0.14% in both groups). The basal insulin dose was relatively unchanged from baseline in the glulisine group but increased in the lispro group (glulisine: 0.12 IU vs. lispro: 1.82 IU; p = 0.0001). As a consequence, total daily insulin dose decreased in the glulisine group but increased in the lispro group (glulisine: -0.86 IU vs. lispro: 1.01 IU; p = 0.0123). There was no relevant difference between the two groups in the reporting of symptomatic hypoglycaemia (overall, nocturnal and severe). This study demonstrates that glulisine provides equivalent glycaemic control to lispro. The clinical relevance of any difference in total daily insulin dose remains to be established.

Topics: Adult; Antibodies, Bacterial; Blood Glucose; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1; Drug Hypersensitivity; Escherichia coli; Female; Humans; Insulin; Insulin Antibodies; Male; Middle Aged

Allergy to insulin became a rare complication due to the introduction of recombinant human insulin preparations. Nevertheless, allergic reactions to components of such preparations can occur. We report a case of a 61-year-old man with an atopic background and affected by diabetes mellitus type 2 since 27 years, who experienced generalized allergy to insulin at the moment of switching oral anti-diabetics to insulin. Prick tests revealed an allergy specifically to zinc, and the patient was treated with zinc-free glulisine insulin. After 8 months of such treatment, patient's glucose is stable and he never experienced allergic reactions to insulin injections. Even insulin allergy due specifically to zinc is rare, such complication must be assessed especially in a patient suffering from multiple allergies.

Topics: Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2; Drug Hypersensitivity; Humans; Hypoglycemic Agents; Insulin; Insulin, Isophane; Male; Middle Aged; Zinc

Topics: Adult; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1; Drug Hypersensitivity; Humans; Immune Tolerance; Insulin; Male

This is a case report of a patient with allergy to the rapid acting insulins and rapid acting analogs. Before trying insulin desensitization the treatment was changed to a basal-bolus regimen with glargine and glulisine with no signs of insulin allergy during the months after the start of the treatment.

Topics: Aged; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2; Drug Hypersensitivity; Humans; Hypoglycemic Agents; Insulin; Insulin Aspart; Insulin, Isophane; Male