Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2008;4(6):1189-95.
doi: 10.2147/vhrm.s3119.

Alpha-glucosidase inhibitors in the early treatment of type 2 diabetes

Floris Alexander van de Laar  1
Affiliations
Review

Alpha-glucosidase inhibitors in the early treatment of type 2 diabetes

Floris Alexander van de Laar. Vasc Health Risk Manag. 2008.

Abstract

Alpha-glucosidase inhibitors (AGIs) are drugs that inhibit the absorption of carbohydrates from the gut and may be used in the treatment of patients with type 2 diabetes or impaired glucose tolerance. There is currently no evidence that AGIs are beneficial to prevent or delay mortality or micro- or macrovascular complications in type 2 diabetes. Its beneficial effects on glycated hemoglobin are comparable to metformin or thiazolidinediones, and probably slightly inferior to sulphonylurea. In view of the total body of evidence metformin seems to be superior to AGIs. More long-term studies are needed to study the effects of AGIs compared to other drugs. For patient with impaired glucose tolerance AGIs may prevent, delay or mask the occurrence of type 2 diabetes. A possible beneficial effect on cardiovascular events should be confirmed in new studies.

Keywords: alpha-glucosidase inhibitors; impaired glucose tolerance; type 2 diabetes mellitus.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Anonymous Effect of intensive blood-glucose control with metformin on complications in overweight patients with type 2 diabetes (UKPDS 34). UK Prospective Diabetes Study (UKPDS) Group. Lancet. 1998a;352:854–65. - PubMed
    1. Anonymous. Intensive blood-glucose control with sulphonylureas or insulin compared with conventional treatment and risk of complications in patients with type 2 diabetes (UKPDS 33). UK Prospective Diabetes Study (UKPDS) Group. Lancet. 1998b;352:837–53. - PubMed
    1. Anonymous 2007Totale kosten 2001–2005 voor ATC-subgroep A10BG: Thiazolidinedionen. Raming voor Ziekenfondswet en particulier verzekerden [online]Accessed 6 June. 2007 URL: http://www.gipdatabank.nl
    1. ADA. Diagnosis and classification of diabetes mellitus. Diabetes Care. 2007;30:S42–S7. - PubMed
    1. Baan CA, Poos MJJC.2007Neemt het aantal mensen met diabetes mellitus toe of af? [online]Accessed 23 March 2007 URL: http://www.nationaalkompas.nl>Gezondheid en ziekte\Ziekten en aandoeningen\ Endocriene, voedings-en stofwisselingsziekten en immuniteitsstoornissen\ Diabetes mellitus.

MeSH terms