Dr Stephen Atkin , Professor of Medicine at the Weill Cornell Medicine Qatar, Dr Abdulla Al Hamaq, Executive Director, Qatar Diabetes Association, Dr Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad bin J Al Thani, Director of Public Health, Ministry of Public Health, Edith Chr
A new flexible type of basal insulin for people with diabetes is now available in Qatar.
The insulin, Tresiba, provides a longer duration of action beyond 42 hours, allowing for flexibility in day-to-day dosing time when needed, without compromising efficacy or risk of hypoglycaemia, said experts.
Tresiba is now being prescribed for patients at the Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) and likely to be available at private hospitals and clinics by next week.
Tresiba can be administered at any time of the day, offering flexible dosing when needed.
“Hypoglycemia is one of the reasons for sudden death from diabetes and this insulin will lower a patient’s risk of reaching hypoglycemia. Some patients cannot handle the worry it brings, therefore Tresiba will give them assurance that they can move forward and be free of worry,” said Dr Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad Al Thani, Director Public Health at the Ministry of Public Health during a press conference held to introduce Tresiba.
Discovered and developed by Novo Nordisk, Tresiba has received regulatory approval in 42 countries including UAE. It was introduced in Qatar as well as in other GCC sates at the same time. About 16 percent of the adult Qatari population between the age of 20 and 79 suffers from diabetes.
One of the key challenges with insulin therapy is the risk of hypoglycaemia, when blood glucose levels fall to lower than normal levels, causing unpleasant symptoms, such as dizziness and confusion, unconsciousness and sometimes death. Hypoglycaemia that occurs at night is of particular concern for people living with diabetes, as it is unpredictable and difficult to detect.
