Insulin (medication) cover meals (bolus also known as mealtime or prandial insulin). Maintaining the basal rate and the bolus rate is a continuous balancing act that people with insulin-dependent diabetes must manage each day. This is normally achieved through regular blood tests, although continuous blood sugar testing equipment (Continuous Glucose Monitors or CGMs) are now becoming available which could help to refine this balancing act once widespread usage becomes common. A long-acting insulin is used to approximate the basal secretion of insulin by the pancreas, which varies in the course of the day. NPH/isophane, lente, ultralente, glargine, and detemir may be used
Insulin (medication) attempt to mimic real beta cell insulin (as with insulin lispro, insulin aspart, and insulin glulisine), or steadily absorbed after injection instead of having a 'peak' followed by a more or less rapid decline in insulin action (as with insulin detemir and insulin glargine), all while retaining insulin's glucose-lowering action in the human body. However, a number of meta-analyses, including those done by the Cochrane Collaboration in 2005, Germany's Institute for Quality and Cost Effectiveness in the Health Care Sector [IQWiG] released in 2007, and the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technology in Health (CADTH) also released in 2007 have