A study in the journal Diabetes Technology & Therapeutics (DTT) concludes that inhaled technosphere insulin (TI-Afrezza) should be considered as an option for individuals with type 1 diabetes who want an alternative to using an insulin pump or multiple daily injections (MDI) for insulin delivery.

TI has a more rapid onset of action than rapid-acting insulin analogs. In this study, adults with type 1 diabetes initiated a regimen of TI plus insulin degludec after completing the usual-care control group of a randomized trial.

Roy Beck, MD, Ph.D., from the JAEB Center for Health Research, and co-authors, reported that daytime time-in-range (TIR) increased from 50+17% to 55+20% with the switch to TI, with an increase of 8.6% compared with baseline MDI and no change compared with baseline automated insulin delivery (AID).

The mean HbA1c change from baseline was -0.23%, with a mean change of -0.36% compared with MDI and 0.0% compared with AID. Participants meeting the HbA1c target of <7.0% increased from 14% to 31%.

“Currently available injectable prandial insulins (lispro, aspart, Lumjev or faster aspart [iASP] do not provide a rapid onset of action. The only insulin that has a rapid on and off effect is TI-Afrezza insulin. The current study by Beck et al. supports improvement in glycemic control, however the total amount of insulin to be taken was significantly higher,” says Satish Garg, MD, Editor-in-Chief of Diabetes Technology & Therapeutics, from University of Colorado Denver, Barbara Davis Center for Diabetes.