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Query: UMLS:C0011849 (diabetes)
 277,896 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The sulphonylureas and the biguanides are widely used as adjuncts to dietary measures in the treatment of non-insulin-dependent (type 2) diabetes mellitus (NIDDM). Adverse effect profiles differ markedly between the sulphonylureas and biguanides, reflecting differences in chemical structure and mode of action. Sulphonylureas are generally well tolerated, although pharmacokinetic differences between these agents have important clinical implications. The main adverse effect associated with sulphonylureas is hypoglycaemia. This effect is a predictable consequence of the principal pharmacological effect of these drugs, i.e. sensitisation of the islet beta-cell to glucose, resulting in enhanced endogenous insulin secretion. Sulphonylurea-induced suppression of hepatic glucose production may cause profound and protracted hypoglycaemia, especially in elderly patients, in individuals with intercurrent illnesses and reduced caloric intake, or when taken in combination with other compounds with hypoglycaemic potential, e.g. alcohol (ethanol). Sulphonylureas with a longer duration of action, notably chlorpropamide and glibenclamide (glyburide), are more liable to induce serious hypoglycaemia, particularly when drug elimination is reduced by renal impairment. Other drugs such as salicylates may potentiate the actions of sulphonylureas, thereby increasing the risk of hypoglycaemia. Biguanide therapy is associated with alterations in lactate homeostasis which under certain clinical circumstances may result in fatal lactic acidosis. Phenformin is associated with a markedly greater risk of lactic acidosis than metformin. Phenformin has been withdrawn in many countries for this reason. All biguanides must be avoided in patients with renal impairment, hepatic dysfunction and cardiac failure--conditions where drug accumulation or disordered lactate metabolism may predispose to lactic acidosis. Phenformin should not be given to individuals who exhibit a severe, genetically conferred hepatic defect of hydroxylation which impedes metabolism of this drug. Less seriously, the biguanides are associated with a relatively high incidence of gastrointestinal adverse effects which limit compliance. Acarbose, a competitive inhibitor of intestinal alpha-glucosidases, has recently been introduced. In contrast to the sulphonylureas and biguanides, acarbose has not been associated with life-threatening adverse effects. This reflects the low systemic absorption of the drug and, predictably, its principal unwanted effects are gastrointestinal disturbances resulting from iatrogenic carbohydrate malabsorption.
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PMID:Comparative tolerability profiles of oral antidiabetic agents. 784 43

Sand rats were used as a model for nutritionally induced type II (non-insulin-dependent) diabetes in an effort to evaluate the effect of acarbose on carbohydrate digestion. Daily plasma glucose profiles, insulin levels and weekly cararact development were determined following long-term feeding with a diet containing acarbose (20 or 40 mg/100 g diet). Acarbose not only dramatically decreased daily plasma glucose and insulin levels (p < 0.05) but also delayed, and possibly prevented, cataract formation in sand rats. The effect of acarbose persisted for 150 days. The control of daily plasma glucose levels and reduction of insulin levels obtained with acarbose may lead to the delay of cataract formation in sand rats. These results could have potential applications to diabetic patients as an adjunct treatment.
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PMID:Beneficial effects of acarbose on daily plasma glucose profile and cataract development in sand rats. 795 47

The efficacy and tolerability of acarbose was studied in 14 type-2-diabetic patients poorly controlled with diet and sulfonylureas. Acarbose was given in addition to sulfonylureas in a single-blind, placebo-controlled study for three times three months (acarbose-placebo-acarbose). At the beginning of the study and every three months body weight, HbA1c and biochemical and hematological safety parameters were measured. The patients controlled their mid morning urine glucose and two to four times daily their blood glucose concentration with a memory glucometer. Diabetic control improved significantly: HbA1c was 8.5 +/- 1.4% at the beginning, 6.5 +/- 1.1% after three months with acarbose (p < 0.001), 7.2 +/- 0.9% after three months placebo (p < 0.01) and 6.7 +/- 1.3% again after three months with acarbose (p < 0.05). Thus, the effect of acarbose alone accounts for 0.7 or 0.5% respectively, whereas the effect of teaching and diet in a special diabetes unit (the difference from the study to placebo) accounts for 1.3% of HbA1c. Home monitored blood and urine glucose values were improved: The postprandial blood glucose concentrations, the postprandial differences, the mean blood glucose concentrations and the glycosuria were decreased during acarbose treatment in comparison with placebo. The preprandial blood glucose concentrations before breakfast and supper were not influenced by acarbose. Hematological and biochemical safety parameters as well as blood pressure and heart rate were unchanged. Meteorism and flatulence as typical side effects decreased during treatment. Acarbose is a safe and effective adjunct treatment for type-2-diabetic patients uncontrolled with diet and sulfonylurea alone.
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PMID:[Effectiveness and tolerance of long-term acarbose therapy in diabetic patients with threatened secondary failure of sulfonylurea drug treatment]. 801 32

A computer program has been developed to simulate non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (type 2). This disease is characterized by an impaired function of the pancreatic beta-cell and by an insufficient insulin sensitivity of the peripheral tissue. The program simulates the dependences of glucose utilization, glucose production and serum insulin level as a function of glucose and insulin and displays the results as curves on the screen. Six different states of diabetes/glucose intolerance as well as a healthy state can be selected. Renal glucose excretion can be adjusted by selection of the glomerular filtration rate. Action of sulphonylureas are simulated by changing the insulin secretion rate of the beta-cell, biguanides enhance sensitivity of the peripheral tissue for insulin and Acarbose delays glucose absorption from the intestines. Model parameters are taken from the literature. The program can be used for computer-aided medical education and for simulation of special problems in research.
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PMID:DIACATOR: simulation of metabolic abnormalities of type II diabetes mellitus by use of a personal computer. 818 67

Oral antidiabetic agents continue to play an important role in the treatment of type 2 diabetes. Of decisive importance is the timing of their use, together with a knowledge of their specific properties. Acarbose, which needs to be initiated at a low, slowly increasing dose, is noted for the fact that it has virtually no systemic side effects. Metformin reduces plasma glucose levels without inducing hyperinsulinemia, and carries virtually no risk of lactic acidosis. Glibenclamide can be used either alone to treat type 2 diabetes or in combination with other oral antidiabetics or insulin. Today, intensified insulin therapy represents the optimal standard of insulin replacement. It permits meal-oriented injection of normal insulin and the use of longer-acting insulin overnight. This form of treatment is now facilitated by the possibilities of plasma glucose selfmonitoring and the use of injection aids (pen). Intensified treatment should be initiated at the time type I diabetes is diagnosed. In the case of a particularly instable metabolic situation or neuropathy, it may become necessary to use insulin pumps.
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PMID:[Management of diabetes in general practice--current requirements. 2: Oral antidiabetics and insulin therapy]. 820 Jun 2

Diabetes is characterized by hyperphagia, polydipsia, polyuria, elevations in blood and urinary glucose, and alterations in the adrenergic nervous system. Insulin treatment is effective in reversing most of the adverse conditions of diabetes in the streptozotocin-treated rat. Acarbose (BAY G 5421), an intestinal alpha-glucosidase inhibitor, decreases postprandial glycemia by delaying carbohydrate absorption and also affords some beneficial effects in the diabetic animal. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of chronic insulin (< or = 2 U/day) with and without acarbose treatment (20 mg/100 g of diet) on the metabolic and adrenergic parameters altered in streptozotocin (50 mg/kg, intravenously)-induced diabetes in female rats. Insulin dosage was changed weekly after the first 2 weeks of treatment in both insulin-treated groups in an attempt to maintain a level of blood glucose that was comparable to that achieved with acarbose treatment alone. Insulin dosage was reduced to a greater extent in the dual-treated group than in the group treated with insulin alone. Diabetic rats were hyperphagic, polydipsic, and polyuric within 1 week of streptozotocin treatment. Each treatment alone was effective in reducing these alterations. However, these reductions were more apparent in the combined therapy group. Only in this combined therapy group was glycated hemoglobin returned to normal. All treatments also prevented the significant weight loss observed in untreated diabetic animals. Adrenergic responses were assessed by monitoring the rise in tail skin temperature associated with administration of isoproterenol. Diabetic rats were less responsive than controls, and each of the treatments restored this response.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:Effects of insulin and acarbose alone and in combination in the female streptozotocin-induced diabetic rat. 830 97

Acarbose is an inhibitor of intestinal alpha-glucosidase and has been reported to decrease blood glucose concentrations and glycosuria in diabetic patients and animals. In this study we investigated whether this drug could prevent the abnormalities detected in retinal circulation of diabetic rats. Longitudinal paired studies were performed and the changes in retinal circulation were analyzed using video based fluorescein angiography (VFA) methodology in the same animal. Baseline VFA recordings were obtained from 41 rats. These rats were separated into 4 different groups: In group A (n = 12), diabetes was induced by streptozotocin (STZ) injection and the rats were fed with acarbose (40 mg/100 g powdered chow) mixed into regular rat chow; In group B (n = 10), diabetes was induced by STZ injection and the rats were fed with normal chow; In group C (n = 9), the non-diabetic rats were fed with acarbose; In group D (n = 10), the non-diabetic rats were fed with normal chow. At the end of 2 weeks, all rats again underwent VFA recordings. Blood glucose levels and body weights of rats were monitored during the experiment. The mean blood glucose concentration of Group B was raised from 98.5 +/- 8.7 to 342 +/- 30 mg/dl after STZ injection while in Group A, this change in glucose level was partially ameliorated by acarbose (from 102 +/- 15 to 247 +/- 48 mg/dl). In Group C and D, the blood glucose levels were not significantly changed during the experiment.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:Reversal of abnormal retinal hemodynamics in diabetic rats by acarbose, an alpha-glucosidase inhibitor. 852 12

The treatment of non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) is based on dietary and oral hypoglycemic therapy. Present therapy includes diet and exercise, sulfonylureas, biguanides, and, if these measures fail, incremental doses of insulin. Current therapeutic strategies include the combination of different agents in an attempt to optimize glycemic control. Acarbose, an alpha-glucosidase inhibitor which delays carbohydrate digestion and the subsequent absorption of glucose, has been used with other agents to improve glycemic control. Also, in several clinical trials, acarbose monotherapy has been shown to result in significant reductions in postprandial plasma glucose levels as well as glycosylated hemoglobin. This agent is a useful addition to the current armamentarium for the treatment of NIDDM. Recently, the usefulness of acarbose as a first-line drug for the treatment of NIDDM has been evaluated and is reviewed here.
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PMID:Clinical experience with acarbose as first line therapy in NIDDM. 854 18

The onset and progression of long-term complications in diabetes mellitus appear to be related to the degree of hyperglycemia and the overall metabolic control. Therefore, an important goal in the therapy of subjects with diabetes is to avoid wide fluctuations in blood glucose concentrations and increases in lipid levels. The first therapeutic maneuver to achieve glycemic control is to establish a correct diet containing complex carbohydrates and an adequate amount of dietary fibers. Dietary fibers are capable of reducing the intestinal uptake of carbohydrates. An additional strategy to reduce the uptake of carbohydrates across the intestine has recently been proposed by Puls et al. This strategy involves the use of inhibitors of alpha-glucosidase, an intestinal enzyme that participates in the breakdown of polysaccharides into disaccharides and monosaccharides. The inhibition of alpha-glucosidase by these agents is competitive and reversible and results in delayed and reduced uptake of carbohydrates across the intestine. This effect attenuates the post-prandial hyperglycemia and subsequent insulin secretory response particularly in subjects with hyperinsulinemia. The compound acarbose is a member of first generation alpha-glucosidase inhibitors. The administration of high doses of acarbose can be associated with side effects such as flatulence, meteorism, abdominal pain, and diarrhea due to the fermentation of non-absorbed carbohydrates in the intestinal lumen. Usually, these effects subside following a few days of therapy and/or reduction of the initial dose. Acarbose has been effectively used to treat type 2 diabetic patients either as a first choice drug or in association with sulfonylurea agents and in type 1 diabetics in association with insulin therapy.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:[alpha-Glucosidase inhibitors in the therapy of diabetes mellitus]. 856 69

The effects of alpha-glucosidase inhibitor (acarbose) were studied in 36 patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM), aged 34-67 years with a mean duration of diabetes of 8.8 +/- 0.9 years. They were poorly controlled with diet plus sulfonylurea alone or plus sulfonylurea combined with metformin drugs. Acarbose, 100 mg three times daily, was additionally given to these patients for six months. Results showed small but significant decreases (P < 0.001) in postprandial blood glucose level. Glycosylated hemoglobin level was lowered significantly (P < 0.001) and was normalised (level of < 8%) in 17 per cent of the patients. Fasting serum triglycerides level decreased significantly (P < 0.01), whereas, no significant changes in serum total cholesterol and HDL cholesterol levels were seen. Body weight also decreased significantly (P < 0.001) at the end of acarbose trial. Flatulence was the major side effect of acarbose found in 42 per cent of the patients but it was well-tolerated and may be transient and self-limited. We concluded that the addition of acarbose to the therapeutic regimens of diet therapy plus sulfonylurea or plus sulfonylurea combined with metformin drugs led to significant improvement of glycemic control. Acarbose may be a safe and valuable adjunct to diet and sulfonylurea and metformin treatments in obese, poorly-controlled patients with NIDDM.
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PMID:Effects of alpha-glucosidase inhibitor (acarbose) combined with sulfonylurea or sulfonylurea and metformin in treatment of non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. 857 67


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