Rationale for starting insulin therapy in type 2 diabetes patients with once-daily Levemir®. Background of the SOLVE study in combination therapy

Abstract

The primary goal of the management of diabetes mellitus is the attainment of normoglycaemia, or near normoglycaemia. The importance of such achievements in reducing or delaying the occurrence of the micro and macro vascular complications of diabetes was clearly illustrated in the Diabetes Control and Complications Study (DCCT) and in the United Kingdom Prospective Diabetes Study (UKPDS). Treatment of Type 2 diabetes has during recent years moved from secondary (or specialist physician) to primary (or general practitioner/family physician) care thus increasing the number of physicians and patients initiating insulin therapy in combination with oral antidiabetics drugs (OADs). With such diversified use, there is a need to complement the data from randomized controlled trials supporting such recommendation with data from large observational studies in real-life setting. Such studies sub serve the primary objective of monitoring safety of such newly-approved use in real-life setting in a large population. SOLVE study aims to document the safety of Levemir^® when used once-daily in combination with OADs in type 2 diabetes in a real-life setting. In current review we also discuss need of early initiating insulin therapy in patients with type 2 diabetes and why once daily insulin detemir is a good choice for that.