Question
Short acting insulin analogues
Answer
Short (rapid)-acting insulin analogs are recombinant human-insulin molecules with amino-acid substitutions that reduce self-aggregation, allowing faster subcutaneous absorption than regular insulin.
Examples: Insulin Lispro (proline/lysine reversal at B28-B29), Insulin Aspart (proline→aspartate at B28), Insulin Glulisine.
Pharmacokinetics: onset ~10-15 minutes, peak ~1 hour, duration 3-4 hours — faster onset than regular insulin (onset ~30 min), allowing injection just before or even after meals.
Advantages: mimics the physiological prandial insulin spike more closely than regular insulin, improving post-prandial glucose control and reducing the interval-related hypoglycemia risk of regular insulin’s slower onset/longer tail.