The treat-to-target trial: randomized addition of glargine or human NPH insulin to oral therapy of type 2 diabetic patients

Abstract

Objective: To compare the abilities and associated hypoglycemia risks of insulin glargine and human NPH insulin added to oral therapy of type 2 diabetes to achieve 7% HbA(1c).

Research design and methods: In a randomized, open-label, parallel, 24-week multicenter trial, 756 overweight men and women with inadequate glycemic control (HbA(1c) >7.5%) on one or two oral agents continued prestudy oral agents and received bedtime glargine or NPH once daily, titrated using a simple algorithm seeking a target fasting plasma glucose (FPG) <or=100 mg/dl (5.5 mmol/l). Outcome measures were FPG, HbA(1c), hypoglycemia, and percentage of patients reaching HbA(1c) <or=7% without documented nocturnal hypoglycemia.

Results: Mean FPG at end point was similar with glargine and NPH (117 vs. 120 mg/dl [6.5 vs. 6.7 mmol/l]), as was HbA(1c) (6.96 vs. 6.97%). A majority of patients ( approximately 60%) attained HbA(1c) <or=7% with each insulin type. However, nearly 25% more patients attained this without documented nocturnal hypoglycemia (<or=72 mg/dl [4.0 mmol/l]) with glargine (33.2 vs. 26.7%, P < 0.05). Moreover, rates of other categories of symptomatic hypoglycemia were 21-48% lower with glargine.

Conclusions: Systematically titrating bedtime basal insulin added to oral therapy can safely achieve 7% HbA(1c) in a majority of overweight patients with type 2 diabetes with HbA(1c) between 7.5 and 10.0% on oral agents alone. In doing this, glargine causes significantly less nocturnal hypoglycemia than NPH, thus reducing a leading barrier to initiating insulin. This simple regimen may facilitate earlier and effective insulin use in routine medical practice, improving achievement of recommended standards of diabetes care.