Treatment of type II diabetes: what options have been added to traditional methods?

Clinical goals in patients with non-insulin-dependent (type II) diabetes are to control glucose levels and prevent microvascular complications (eye, kidney, and nerve damage) while improving risk factors associated with cardiovascular disease (obesity, smoking, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, and hyperinsulinemia or insulin resistance). A wide array of medications and approaches is available to treat type II diabetes. Still, establishing an effective treatment regimen can be difficult, because patients have varying degrees of insulin secretory defects and insulin resistance and different conditions that must be factored in. Therefore, an individualized plan centered on self-management is the key to successful therapy in type II diabetes.