Effects of methylprednisolone pulse therapy on insulin injections in patients with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus

Abstract

In this study we evaluated 31 insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) patients (ages 12.1+/-3.4 years, 18 males/13 females) who started on multiple subcutaneous insulin injections (MSII) within six weeks of diagnosis and achieved either complete (CR: no insulin requirement and near-normoglycemia for at least two weeks) or incomplete (ICR: minimum 50% decline in insulin requirement while maintaining near-normoglycemia for two weeks or more) remissions within the first 12 weeks of the MSII trial. Methylprednisolone pulse therapy (MP) was administered four times per day by IV bolus at a dose of 30 mg/kg (max. 1000 mg) on alternate days.