Pharmacologic treatment options for type 1 diabetes: what's new?

The expanding variety of insulins, including biosynthetic human insulin and rapid and long-acting insulin analogs, have dramatically transformed the management of type 1 diabetes (T1D) over the past 25 years. Moreover, increasing interest in the use of novel drugs developed for the treatment of type 2 diabetes (T2D) as adjunctive therapies for T1D remains a work in progress. Areas Covered: We reviewed articles published up to December 2018 in PubMed and ClinicalTrials.gov for recent developments in the pharmacologic treatment of T1D, including inhaled insulin, ultrafast and ultralong-acting insulins and adjunctive therapies including pramlintide, metformin, GLP-1 receptor agonists, DPP-4 inhibitors, SGLT-2, and SGLT1/2 inhibitors. Expert Opinion: With the creation of ultrafast-acting insulin analogs and very prolonged duration of action of basal insulins, it is possible to more closely mimic physiologic insulin secretion. Adjunctive therapies, likewise, may also overcome some of the abnormal physiology that is a hallmark of T1D. Therefore, individualized consideration of the efficacy of these agents must be measured alongside the potential adverse effects when choosing an adjunctive therapy.