Twenty-two
insulin-dependent diabetic patients participated in a double-blind, cross-over study, where treatment with semisynthetic
human NPH insulin (Novo Industri) was compared with porcine
NPH insulin (Nordisk). Each treatment period lasted 8 weeks.
Blood glucose level, glycosylated haemoglobin,
insulin requirements, and frequency of hypoglycaemic events were compared. No difference was found in 24-hour
blood glucose profiles. Fasting
blood glucose level was 8.3 mmol/l during treatment with human
insulin and 8.7 mmol/l during treatment with
porcine insulin (p less than 0.1). Mean HbA1c was 7.7% at the end of study compared to 9.5% at baseline (p less than 0.01), but this decline in HbA1c was independent of the treatment regimen. Forty-six hypoglycaemic events occurred during treatment with human
insulin compared to 39 events during treatment with
porcine insulin. No difference was found regarding
insulin requirements during the study. It is concluded that semisynthetic
human NPH insulin is indistinguishable from porcine
NPH insulin with respect to 24-hour
blood glucose profile, HbA1c level and
insulin dose requirements.