
Insulin pumps beat manual injections for managing symptoms of Type 2 diabetes, according to the latest results from Medtronic’s (NYSE:MDT) OpT2mise clinical trials.
Previous study outcomes suggested that insulin pumps provided better glucose control in treating Type 2 diabetes, but new results suggest that patients are also happier with pumps than with injections.
The randomized, controlled study included 331 patients ranging in age from 30 to 75 years old. Initial results were published in July in the journal The Lancet, reporting that average blood glucose levels were reduced 1.1% in pump patients, compared with only 0.4% in injection patients. Pump patients also reportedly reduced their daily insulin dosage by 20%.
"In my experience patients were generally very surprised by the high quality of life they experience with the pump," principal investigator Prof. Yves Reznik said on behalf of the company. "Several of the patients in the trial were reluctant to start on an insulin pump. However, after wearing it for a few days, they told me that if they had known it was so easy, they would have switched to pump therapy much earlier."