[Long-acting insulins in the treatment of type 2 diabetes and their position in the current treatment algorithm]

Insulin therapy has been for many years an inseparable part of the treatment of patients with type 2 diabetes, in particular those with longer diabetes duration. Current national and international guidelines list insulin treatment as a possible second choice therapy in patient with unsatisfactory glucose control on monotherapy with metformin. In reality, insulin therapy is often initiated later than it optimally should be. The reasons include among others the fear of patients and sometimes also of physicians from the side effects of insulin. Even though the options of antidiabetic treatment has been diversified by the addition of novel groups of antidiabetics with good efficacy and low risk of hypoglycemia, long acting insulin therapy still remains the most effective way of decreasing fasting hyperglycemia with the effect lasting further throughout the day. In this paper we summarize the current knowledge concerning long-acting insulins available on the Czech market or the ones that should be available in the near future. We discuss the differences among available long-acting insulins and their clinical consequences with respect to the selection of particular insulin for particular patient.Key words: biosimilar insulins - body weight - diabetes mellitus - hypoglycemia - long acting insulin.