New 'three times a week' insulin effective

A long-acting insulin could improve the quality of life of patients with type 2 diabetes, who may be using assisted living, researchers have said.

The study, published in The Lancet, found that a type of insulin administered just three times a week was just as effective for controlling blood sugar as the standard insulin used now, which is injected daily.

Researcher Bernard Zinman of the University of Toronto told WebMD that the study proves patients can achieve a good blood sugar level when the drug is administered just three times a week.

"But if you ask if I would recommend that it be used this way, my answer would be no. I think it should be used daily to reduce the risk of hypoglycaemia," he added.

This comes after research published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition said the reason African-Americans are twice as likely to be diagnosed with type 2 diabetes could be due to lower potassium levels in their diet.

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