PS1 - 1. Insulin detemir increases cerebral glucose metabolism compared to NPH insulin in human type 1 diabetes: possible explanation for differences in weight gain?

Intensive insulin therapy improves the long-term outcome of diabetes patients, but is also associated with weight gain. Insulin detemir (ID) is a relatively new basal insulin analogue, which has consistently been shown to result in less weight gain as compared to other insulin therapies. Since insulin enters the brain, stimulates cerebral glucose metabolism and acts centrally as a satiety signal, differential effects of insulin therapies in the brain could possibly account for these reported differences in weight gain. Cerebral glucose metabolism (cerebral metabolic rate of glucose, CMRglu) can be measured using [18F]-fluoro- 2-deoxy-D-glucose ([18F]FDG) and positron emission tomography (PET).