Mode of operation
Diabetes mellitus is a disease in which either no (type I) or too little (type 2) insulin is produced. Instead of being absorbed into the cells of the body, the sugar glucose increasingly accumulates in the blood. Actrapid mimics the effect of the body’s own insulin by binding to receptors in fat and muscle cells, thus enabling glucose to be absorbed into the cell.
The cell needs glucose to cover its energy requirements and to provide energy for other tissues. As normal insulin, Actrapid corresponds to the structure of the body’s own insulin. However, it is produced by a yeast into which the gene responsible for insulin production has been introduced.
Like the insulin released by the pancreas, the effect of Actrapid begins after only 15-30 minutes and is maintained for between four and six hours. It reaches its maximum effect after about two hours. The advantage of short-acting insulin is its suitability for short-term intervention in metabolic disorders. However, this is at the same time associated with the risk of hypoglycaemia (low blood sugar).
