Category:Short-acting

From Diabetes in Pets

British National Formulary^[1] defines them as: A sterile solution of insulin (i.e. bovine or porcine) or of human insulin; pH 6.6-8.0

Short acting insulins have been around a long time. The first insulin produced for treatment of diabetes was short-acting; there was no such thing as longer acting insulins until the mid 1930's when PZI came on the market. Until then, most diabetics had to rely on a series of shots to get them through each day.

Today short-acting insulin is used as bolus for meals, for blood glucose "corrections" or Boosters when bg's are running too high, and for diabetic emergencies. When a pet or person is hospitalized for a diabetic emergency, some type of short or rapid-acting insulin is given intravenously to bring blood glucose levels down quickly.

These short-acting insulins are used either by themselves as bolus or booster insulin or as Mixed Insulins, combined with NPH/isophane insulin.

With the exception of semilente, they can be injected or given intravenously. Semilente can't be used intravenously because it is a suspended, "cloudy" insulin. Semilente by itself has almost disappeared from the market.

Trade names:

Short Acting Insulins
Bovine/Beef	Hypurin Bovine Neutral Hypurin Vet Neutral
Bovine/Beef	Insuvet Neutral
Bovine/Beef	Iletin I R (No longer produced.)
Porcine/Pork	Hypurin Porcine Neutral Hypurin Pork Regular
Porcine/Pork	Pork Actrapid
Porcine/Pork	Iletin II R (No longer produced.)
Porcine/Pork	Novo Semilente MC Note: Semilente insulin is not soluble. It cannot be used intravenously.
R-DNA	Humulin R, Humulin S The "S" in the name stands for soluble, not semilente.
R-DNA	Insuman Rapid
R-DNA	Novolin R, Actrapid, ReliOn/Novolin R