MEDICAL SPECIALITIES > Diabetes

The classical treatments used until now for the control of diabetes have been oral anti-diabetics and human insulin. The problem of the oral anti-diabetics is the great number of hypoglycaemias (lowering of blood sugar) which they produce. Also in the long term they worsen the prognosis because they over-stimulate the pancreas and made the diabetic dependent on insulin at an earlier age.

Human insulin used to produce a large number of allergic reactions, and at times the patients did not tolerate it. As a consequence they sometimes stopped its use, thus resulting in the death of the patient, as a direct consequence of the lack of control of the glucose in the blood.

In the Hilu Medical Centre we are going to use a new range of oral anti-diabetics which NEVER produce hypoglycaemia, and which make it possible to avoid the use of insulin up to very advanced age and, in some cases, help to withdraw the insulin from patients who had been using it for some time.

Some of these compounds, in particular those called ‘inhibitors of the GLP-1 enzyme’, are also used in the United States to lose weight, due to the slowing down of the emptying of the stomach which they produce, giving an early sensation of fullness, and also because of the slight metabolic increase which they induce.

In CMH our specialist, Dr. Martinez Peñalver, has participated in the development of these products as a researcher, and at present is the doctor who uses them most in the community of Andalusia, being therefore, very expert in their handling.

The new insulin, obtained by recombinant DNA technology, makes it possible to stop using the previous type of insulin, its only side-effect being hypoglycaemia in the case of an overdose. Basically there are several types of the ‘new insulin’: fast acting, which acts from 15 minutes to 3-4 hours after the injection, and the slow acting, which disperses in the body gradually over 24 hours.

The objective of the present diabetologist is to rescue the patient already using insulin, and replace it with the treatments just mentioned and, if the use of insulin is necessary, to organise the doses following a comfortable scheme which will not interfere with the patient’s lifestyle, but will protect him from the secondary complications of the illness.

Do not hesitate; request an appointment with our Doctor who specialises in Internal Medicine, and who will provide more information.