Current Pharmacological Treatments in Type 1 Diabetes and Patient Tolerability Against New Generation Medicines

Abstract

Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1D) is an autoimmune condition characterized by insulin deficiency due to pancreatic beta-cell destruction. The global incidence of T1D has been increasing and reached 12 million patients in 2021. Diabetes is expected to rank third place, following cardiovascular disease and stroke within factors that reduce life expectancy. T1D patients suffer from poor glycemic control due to fluctuations in glucose levels, leading to cardiovascular disease, nephropathy, and retinopathy. T1D currently has no cure, and management strategies are crucial for improving the quality of patient life. In this chapter, we will be discussing advancements in diabetes technologies, focusing on management and emerging therapies. Newer technologies in glucose monitoring, better analogs for insulin replacement therapies, and advanced continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII) devices eliminating the burden of manual multiple daily injections (MDI) are proving to be beneficial to diabetics. Additionally, combined adjunct therapies where amylin analogs, GLP-1 receptor agonists, and SGLT2 inhibitors, as well as emerging immunotherapy, offer complementary benefits in managing T1D. Although surgical interventions such as the pancreas or islet transplantations are currently applied as a necessary measure to rescue organ failure, advancements in stem cell technologies and synthetic biology eliminate donor requirements and increase the survival of transplants.