1 Department of Pediatrics, University of Missouri Medical Center, Columbia, Missouri
Insulin employed in the treatment of most diabetics is of bovine origin, or a mixture of bovine and porcine insulins. The measurement of insulin binding of bovine and porcine insulins by adsorption chromatographic technique is simple, rapid, and of assistance in the management of some diabetics with high insulin requirements. Most diabetic children develop mild degrees of insulin binding during the first 6 months of insulin therapy which remains relatively constant with longer duration of the disease. An occasional diabetic child develops higher insulin binding, especially to bovine insulin with a concurrent rapid increase in insulin requirement. The demonstration of selective binding for one type of insulin has therapeutic significance. Substitution of an insulin for which there is little insulin binding results in a decrease in insulin requirement and better regulation of diabetes.
Submitted on August 19, 1968