[e-drug] Diabetics demand insulin safety probe

[Alan Cassels <cassels@shaw.ca>]

E-drug: Diabetics demand insulin safety probe
---------------------------------------------
The following is a front page article from the globeandmail.com Web Centre.
  http://www.globeandmail.com

cheers,
Alan Cassels
1705-B Fernwood Road
Victoria, BC V8T 2Y3
Canada
Alan Cassels <cassels@shaw.ca>

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Diabetics demand insulin safety probe

Andre Picard
PUBLIC HEALTH REPORTER

A group of diabetics and their physicians are calling for a public 
inquiry into the safety of insulin, saying that newer, genetically 
engineered products are sickening and perhaps even killing Canadians.

They are also demanding that Health Canada ensure that an 
old-fashioned form of insulin, derived from animals, be made more 
widely available.

"In the last year, I've spoken to about 250 people who've had serious 
reactions to genetically engineered insulin," said Colleen Fuller, a 
spokeswoman for the Society for Diabetic Rights.

In fact, using the access-to-information law, the new group has 
discovered that eight Canadians had died after taking synthetic 
insulin as of January, 2001. Another 465 people had adverse 
reactions. By comparison, only nine diabetics reported adverse 
reactions to pork insulin, and none to beef insulin.

In the United States, there have been 92 reported deaths, and 4,000 
adverse reactions reported by diabetics using synthetic insulin.

"Most doctors and health professionals are unaware of the high number 
of reports linking serious adverse reactions to synthetic insulin 
because Health Canada maintains a veil of secrecy," said Brenda 
Johnson, a member of the society.  She switched to pork insulin after 
lapsing into a coma while using synthetic insulin.

"When diabetics tell their doctors they're having problems, they're 
dismissed out of hand. Not only are doctors unaware that many other 
people are having the same problems, but they don't know that animal 
insulin is a safe and available alternative," she said.

Ms. Johnson said the group feels a public inquiry is justified 
because there has been an absence of monitoring of the drug's safety 
after it was approved by Health Canada. She said this is 
unacceptable, particularly given the fact that insulin was the first 
genetically engineered medication ever approved for use in humans.

The Society for Diabetic Rights will formally call for an inquiry at 
a press conference today on Parliament Hill.

There are about two million diabetics in Canada, about 220,000 of 
whom are insulin-dependent. Insulin replaces a hormone that is 
usually produced by the pancreas for people whose bodies do not 
manufacture it naturally; without insulin, diabetes is potentially 
fatal.

John Hunt, an endocrinologist and former head of the Canadian 
Diabetes Association, said that most diabetics can use genetically 
engineered insulin without incident, but a significant minority 
suffer from adverse reactions.

He said the most common problem is hypoglycemia unawareness, in which 
diabetics lose their ability to feel that their blood sugars are low. 
This can lead to confusion, an inability to concentrate and insulin 
shock, in which a person can slip into a coma and die.

"The effects of hypoglycemia and loss of warnings on the lives of 
some diabetics and their families can be enormous," Dr. Hunt said. He 
continues to treat a number of his patients with animal insulin.

Synthetic insulin was introduced to Canada in 1982. In 1995, one of 
the two major insulin manufacturers, Novo Nordisk, withdrew all its 
animal insulin from Canada, leaving diabetics with no choice. Eli 
Lilly, the other major insulin maker, stopped selling beef insulin in 
1999, and makes a limited amount of pork insulin available for import.

The manufacturers insist that the products are safe. Genetically 
engineered insulin is cheaper to produce, and drug makers say it is 
safer because there is no risk of patients contracting animal 
diseases.
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