NPH insulin 3014061 217142241 2008-06-04T20:01:11Z Gary King 118799 Reverted edits by [[Special:Contributions/189.129.207.15|189.129.207.15]] ([[User talk:189.129.207.15|talk]]) to last version by Travisthurston [[Image:Hc-hagedorn-150.jpg|thumb|Hans Christian Hagedorn (1888-1971)]] '''Neutral Protamine Hagedorn''' was created in 1946 when [[Nordisk]] formulated "isophane" porcine [[insulin]] by adding Neutral [[Protamine]] to regular insulin. It was dubbed Neutral Protamine Hagedorn or NPH. This is a suspension of crystalline zinc insulin combined with the positively charged polypeptide, [[protamine]]. When injected subcutaneously, it has an intermediate duration of action, meaning longer than that of regular insulin, but shorter than [[ultralente]], [[Insulin glargine|glargine]] or [[Insulin detemir|detemir]]. ==History== [[Hans Christian Hagedorn]] (1888-1971) and August Krogh (1874-1949) obtained the rights for [[insulin]] from [[Frederick Banting|Banting]] and [[Charles Best|Best]] in [[Toronto]]. In 1923 they formed [[Nordisk]] Insulinlaboratorium, and in 1926 with August Kongsted he obtained a Danish Royal Charters as a non-profit foundation. In 1936 Hagedorn and B. Norman Jensen discovered that the effects of injected insulin could be prolonged by the addition of [[protamine]] obtained from the "milt" or [[semen]] of river trout. The insulin would be added to the protamine, but the solution would have to be brought to pH 7 for injection. [[Canada]] later produced PZI insulin, a mixture of [[zinc]], protamine and porcine insulin. This mixture only needed to be shaken before injection. In 1946 [[Nordisk]] was able to form crystals of protamine and insulin and marketed it in 1950 as NPH insulin. NPH insulin has the advantage that it can be mixed with an insulin that has a faster onset to complement its longer lasting action. Eventually all animal insulins made by Novo Nordisk were replaced by synthetic, [[recombinant]] 'human' insulin. Synthetic 'human' insulin is also complexed with NPH by adding synthetic protamine. ==Timeline== *1926 [[Nordisk]] receives Danish charter to produce insulin *1936 Hagedorn discovers that adding protamine to insulin prolongs the effect of insulin *1936 Canadians D.M. Scott and A.M. Fisher formulate zinc insulin mixture and license to [[Novo Nordisk|Novo]] *1946 [[Nordisk]] crystallizes a protamine and insulin mixture *1950 [[Nordisk]] markets NPH insulin *1953 [[Nordisk]] markets "Lente" zinc insulin mixtures ==See also== *[[Insulin analogue]] {{pharma-stub}} {{Oral hypoglycemics and insulin analogs}} [[Category:Insulin therapies]]