Cardiovascular benefits and safety profile of acarbose therapy in prediabetes and established type 2 diabetes

Cardiovasc Diabetol. 2007 Aug 15:6:20. doi: 10.1186/1475-2840-6-20.

Abstract

Dysglycaemic disease is one of the most important health issues facing the world in the 21st century. Patients with type 2 diabetes and individuals with prediabetes are at risk of developing macrovascular and microvascular complications. Long-term management strategies are therefore required that are effective at controlling dysglycaemia, well tolerated and, ideally, offer additional cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk-reduction benefits. The efficacy, safety and tolerability of the alpha-glucosidase inhibitor acarbose have been well-established in a wide range of patient populations in both clinical and community trials. In addition, acarbose has been shown to reduce cardiovascular complications in type 2 diabetes and prevent hypertension and CVD in individuals with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT). Acarbose has a very good safety profile and, owing to its straightforward, non-systemic mode of action, avoids most adverse events. The most common side-effects of acarbose are mild-to-moderate gastrointestinal complaints that subside as treatment continues. They can be minimised through the use of an appropriate stepwise dosing regimen and careful choice of diet. Acarbose is therefore a valuable option for the management of type 2 diabetes and, as the only oral antidiabetes agent approved for the treatment of prediabetes, can help to improve clinical management across the dysglycaemic disease continuum.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Acarbose / therapeutic use*
  • Cardiovascular Diseases
  • Clinical Trials as Topic
  • Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / drug therapy*
  • Diabetic Angiopathies / prevention & control
  • Humans
  • Hypertension / prevention & control
  • Hypoglycemic Agents / therapeutic use
  • Metformin / therapeutic use
  • Prediabetic State / drug therapy*
  • Rosiglitazone
  • Safety
  • Thiazolidinediones / therapeutic use

Substances

  • Hypoglycemic Agents
  • Thiazolidinediones
  • Rosiglitazone
  • Metformin
  • Acarbose