The term ‘pre-diabetes’ has crept into our language and there is debate about its use. People who are at risk of developing Type 2 diabetes are now being classed as having ‘pre-diabetes’ or ‘borderline diabetes’.
This is the title of a report issued by the Parliamentary and Health Ombudsman on October 20th 2016 and the title page describes it as ‘How drivers have been let down by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA)’.
Several new insulins have come to the market recently; three high strength insulins which have concentrations greater than the previously standard strength of U100 and biosimilar insulin.
The Trustees of IDDT have discussed the introduction of different strengths of insulin in depth and strongly expressed their concerns about the risks of errors by people with diabetes, health professionals and hospitals. These concerns come from their experiences of the introduction of the first genetically modified human insulin in the 1980s when there was a dearth of evidence of benefit and many people with diabetes were not informed of the differences from their previous natural animal insulin.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has started a review of canagliflozin, dapagliflozin and empagliflozin, which are diabetes medicines known as SGLT2 inhibitors. This was requested by the European Commission following several reports of diabetic ketoacidosis in patients on SGLT2 inhibitor treatment for Type 2 diabetes. EMA will now review all available data on the risk of diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) with SGLT2 inhibitors and consider whether any changes are needed in the way these medicines are used in the EU.
The InDependent Diabetes Trust [IDDT] is all too aware of the difficulties that children with diabetes and their parents face in everyday life when managing the condition. One area that proves particularly problematic is managing the condition at school. With this in mind, IDDT has produced a new, FREE booklet, the Parents Passport for Schools.
The National Paediatric Audit report by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, March 2015, has shown that in England and Wales only 16.1% of young people aged 12 years and older are receiving the 7 annual checks that every child with diabetes should have. This is a slight improvement from the last audit but still very worrying.
There is an urgent need for effective public health strategies to deal with diabetes, starting with more consistent NHS testing, says Jenny Hirst, Chair of the InDependent Diabetes Trust (IDDT).
It is important that people have a fully informed choice of insulin so that they can choose the type of insulin and the regime that suits them and their lifestyle.

Insulin Choices – The Evidence
Animal insulins are available in the UK
Replacement pork insulin available in
Canada
Use of Pork Insulin in Pumps
Reviews and Reports





















