Type 1 Diabetes mellitus

1. What causes T1DM?

2. How is T1DM treated?

3. Multiple injections of insulin vs Insulin pumps

T1DM is a very demanding chronic disease. It soon became apparent that there was a need for the administration of multiple injections a day which became bothersome for patients. The development of long acting insulins allowed for more stable glucose control, but it became clear that the ideal insulin regimen included a long acting component (ie basal insulin) and a meal component (rapid-acting insulin).

In nowadays, basal insulin is usually administered once or twice a day, and rapid acting insulin is administered before every meal. That is, 5 - 6 shots a day!!!

It's no wonder that an interest grew for the development of infusion pumps for insulin and, in the early 21st century the first insulin pumps became commercially available.