Introduction to basal insulin therapy: clinical management of diabetes.

Diabetes is a series of metabolic conditions associated with many serious comorbidities, such as heart disease and stroke, peripheral arterial disease and lower-extremity amputations, retinopathy, nephropathy, and peripheral neuropathy. The American Diabetes Association, the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, and the International Diabetes Federation recommend that individuals with diabetes be as near to normoglycemic as possible. There are many glycemic management barriers among patients, such as cost, patient perceptions, and clinical inertia. Advancements in the treatment of diabetes with novel pharmacotherapeutic products have changed the therapeutic landscape of diabetes. Newer longer-acting insulin products that closely resemble endogenous insulin secretion patterns are demonstrating some improvements in clinical outcomes.