Cognitive and psychomotor function during hypoglycemia: a comparison between porcine and human insulin

After an overnight euglycemic clamp, blood glucose levels were precisely lowered on two nonconsecutive mornings via a glucose-controlled insulin infusion system (GCIIS, Biostator) using either purified porcine insulin (PPI) or human insulin (HI). Two cognitive and psychomotor tests were significantly different in 8 type-I diabetic subjects and 8 healthy volunteers at four timepoints, when mean blood glucose concentrations (BGCs) were 100, 65, 50, and 40 mg/dl. Also, a significant difference (p = 0.005) could be found between the mean of all reaction time testing (RTT) values under HI as compared with the mean of all RTT values under PPI. Lowering the BGC resulted in a significant increase in the reaction time (p = 0.012). These effects were not dependent on the type of insulin being used nor were they typical of a particular study group.