The first graph in the panel below shows a 24-hour blood glucose profile for a typical patient (in red). His carbohydrate intake is shown in grams on the second graph (in blue).

Blood Glucose Level (mmol/l)

The next panel below shows the patient's simulated plasma insulin level on the upper graph (in red), and his insulin regimen of Regular insulin (in red) and long-acting Ultratard insulin (in blue) on the lower graph.

Plasma Insulin Level (mU/l)

This man tends to have high blood glucose levels throughout most of the day. He is concerned about this. How might he adjust his insulin regimen to compensate for this?

His renal threshold of glucose (RTG) - which represents the blood glucose level at which glucose starts to be excreted into the urine by the kidneys - is currently normal. However if this were to rise, his blood glucose level would rise even higher, before glucose started to be passed into the urine. Try changing the RTG from normal to low or high and see the effect on this man's blood glucose profile, as you try to improve his overall metabolic control.

You can also use the advanced Fluxes option in the main 'AIDA on-line' simulator to monitor the actual renal excretion of glucose. Case scenario 27 provides a good example suitable for simulating this.

Below is a data entry form showing this example patient's carbohydrate intake, insulin regimen, as well as other clinical variables such as weight and renal function. Try changing any of these fields to modify the regimen and click on the 'Run Simulation' button at the bottom of the page. This will result in the effects of the changes being displayed in your Web browser window.