Howard C. Berkowitz wrote:
In article , Marina
wrote:


EvelynVogtGamble(Divamanque) wrote:

I knew the emotional centers of a cat's brain were nearly identical to
those of humans - I hadn't stopped to think that probably meant its
nervous system was, too. Of course, humans don't really like to think
we are that closely related to pigs (although cannibals refer to human
meant as "long pig") but I've read several places that we really are.


Before genetic engineering developed far enough, type I diabetics got
pig's insulin. I lived on pig's insulin about 20 years. Now we use
synthetic insulin that is identical to human insulin.


Actually, at least one form of pig insulin is still manufactured. My
first delighted thought was it confirmed certain humans were swine, but
it turns out that this particular form has a rate of release that's
different from the synthetic human forms, a rate that's useful in some
patients.

I've heard that some people have problems with the synthetic kind and
demanded to have the pig's insulin back.

Of the ten or so human insulin preparations, about a third are
identical, while others have a slightly modified molecule that doesn't
interfere with the basic hormonal effect, but does affect the release
rate. When you see a name like "insulin glargine", that refers to
moving around a glutamic acid and and an arginine amino acid in the
protein sequence. "insulin lispro" moves lysine and proline.

I have one of each, glargine for slow release (the 'background' insulin)
and lispro for mealtime quick release.

--
Marina, Miranda and Caliban. In loving memory of Frank and Nikki.
marina (dot) kurten (at) iki (dot) fi
Stories and pics at http://koti.welho.com/mkurten/
Pics at http://uk.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/frankiennikki/
and http://community.webshots.com/user/frankiennikki