Compounding for the Complications of Diabetes: Interviews with Compounding Pharmacists George B. Muller, RPh, and Jerrod Roberts, DPh

Vail, J.

Accounts of diabetes have been found in the earliest recorded medical treatises. Once thought to be a disease of the kidneys, diabetes pursued a relentlessly fatal course characterized by progressively worsening disability and excruciating discomfort. The discovery of insulin in the 1920s and the ongoing refinement of its use in treatment provided patients with diabetes with the hope of control (but not cure) of their disease. Those who benefit from a longer and much-improved quality of life as a result of treatment with insulin, however, experience a constellation of chronic diabetes-related complications. In relieving the discomforts of those disorders, compounded preparations offer effective help. In this article, pharmacists George Muller and Jerrod Roberts discuss the topical compounds most effective in treating the painful neuropathy and cutaneous ulcers that many diabetic patients experience. Formulations for a variety of preparations for the complications of diabetes are also provided.