Combination therapies with insulin in type 1 diabetes

Insulin therapy is still absolutely vital for type 1 diabetes. It is however still difficult to constantly maintain glucose concentrations within the physiological range with insulin therapy. Furthermore, insulin therapy is associated with a higher risk of hypoglycemic episodes. In addition, some individuals with type 1 diabetes develop aspects of type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome. Therefore, there is interest in optimizing metabolic control with combination therapies with insulin, as is standard in type 2 diabetes, and other therapeutic principles in type 1 diabetes. An additional pharmacological action principle might have potential beneficial effects on concomitant risk factors or complications. In this article the present knowledge, clinical study data and the approval situation of combination therapies of insulin therapy with either GLP-1 receptor agonists (GLP: glucagon-like peptide) or with SGLT-2 inhibitors (SGLT: sodium glucose-linked transporter) are presented.