Acarbose for the treatment of type II diabetes: the results of a Canadian multi-centre trial.

The treatment of Type II diabetes (NIDDM) includes an appropriate diet and prudent exercise program. If these measures are insufficient to control the blood sugar, oral agents (sulphonylureas or biguanides) or insulin are added to the therapeutic regimen. Although the diet prescription has undergone some changes and refinements, this approach has been the traditional treatment for NIDDM for nearly 40 years. Recently a new class of oral agents, the alpha-glucosidase inhibitors, has become available. These drugs are competitive inhibitors of the alpha-glucosidase enzymes in the brush border of the bowel wall. They act to slow and delay the rate of carbohydrate absorption, thereby decreasing postprandial hyperglycemia. A recent study was designed to evaluate the long-term efficacy of acarbose, an alpha-glucosidase inhibitor, in improving the glycemic control of patients with NIDDM who were sub-optimally controlled on either diet alone, or diet plus sulphonylurea, metformin or insulin. A total of 354 patients with NIDDM were studied, 77 on diet alone, 83 on metformin, 103 and sulphonylurea and 91 on insulin. Subjects in each treatment stratum were randomized, double-blind to either acarbose or placebo, for 1 year. At baseline and every 3 months thereafter, fasting and postprandial glucose and C-peptide, HbA1c and fasting lipids were measured. Compared to placebo, acarbose treatment resulted in a decrease in mean postprandial glucose in all four strata (19 +/- 0.8 to 15.3 +/- 0.7 mmol/l: P < 0.001). This effect was even more pronounced and highly statistically significantly different when comparing the postprandial plasma glucose incremental area under the curve between placebo and acarbose treatment.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)