Effect of short-term intensive insulin therapy on type 2 diabetes

Objective:To investigate the short-term effects and long-term influences of short-term intensive insulin therapy on type 2 diabetes mellitus(T2DM).Methods:One hundred and thirty patients with T2DM were treated with intensive insulin for 2 weeks,and followed up for 12 months.The levels of fasting plasma glucose(FPG),2 h plasma glucose(2hPG),glycosylated hemoglobin(HbA1c),blood lipid,interleukin-6(IL-6) and procalcitonin in patients between before and after treatment were compared.The insulin resistance and islet β-cell function were evaluated using homeostasis method.The alleviating rate was counted during the 12 months of following up.Results:Compared with before treatment,the levels of FPG,2hPG,HbA1c,IL-6,procalcitonin and insulin resistance significantly decreased(P<0.01),and the islet β-cell function significantly increased after treatment(P<0.01).Compared with before treatment,the levels of FPG,2hPG,HbA1c,low density lipoprotein cholesterol and high density lipoprotein cholesterol significantly decreased(P<0.01),and the total alleviating rate of patients was 42.31%(55/130) after 12 months of following up.The alleviating rate in patients with disease course < 3 months,3 months to 1 year,> 1 to 5 years,> 5 to 10 years,> 10 to 15 years and > 15 years were 81.82%(18/22),71.43%(15/21),54.55%(12/22),31.82%(7/22),13.64%(3/22) and 0.00%(0/21),respectively.The disease course in alleviating patients was significantly shorter than that in nonalleviating patients(P<0.01).Conclusions:The short-term intensive insulin therapy can protect the islet function and improve the insulin resistance of T2DM patients.