title: Efficacy of glimepiride in Japanese type 2 diabetic subjects.
abstract: We investigated the efficacy of glimepiride, a third-generation sulfonylurea (SU), in Japanese type 2 diabetic patients in whom glycemic control had been inadequate with a conventional SU, gliclazide or glibenclamide. A total of 172 Japanese type 2 diabetic patients (HbA1C > or = 7.0%), maintained on a conventional SU, were randomly assigned to the 3rd SU group (SU treatments switched to glimepiride) or the 2nd SU group (treatments not changed). The conventional SU was switched to the indicated doses of glimepiride (gliclazide 40 mg = glimepiride 1 mg, glibenclamide 2.5 mg = glimepiride 2 mg). After 6 months, glycemic control (HbA1C and fasting plasma glucose) had not changed significantly in either the 2nd or the 3rd SU group. The homeostasis assessment model of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) in the 3rd SU group was decreased by more than 10% (p = 0.015), whereas no change was observed in the 2nd SU group. The triglyceride level was decreased by approximately 10% in the 3rd SU group, not a significant change (p = 0.080). Patients who had been treated with only SU, or treated with SU for a short time (less than 5 years), and who were also obese (BMI > or = 25) or had a high HOMA-IR (HOMA-IR > or = 3), showed significantly reduced insulin resistance. According to logistic regression analysis, high BMI ( > or = 25) was the only variable predicting that glimepiride would more effectively improve HbA1C than conventional SU treatment. In conclusion, switching conventional SUs to glimepiride reduced insulin resistance without improving glycemic control. A notable finding of this study is that glimepiride was more beneficial in obese than in non-obese Japanese type 2 diabetic patients.
authors.affiliation: Division of Endocrinology and Diabetes, Department of Internal Medicine, Saitama Medical School, 38 Morohongo, Iruma-gun, Saitama-ken 350-0495, Japan. inukai@saitama-med.ac.jp
authors.forename: Kouichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Inukai
authors.forename: Masaki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Watanabe
authors.forename: Youhei
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nakashima
authors.forename: Takahiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sawa
authors.forename: Nobuki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Takata
authors.forename: Masahiko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.forename: Hideyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kashiwabara
authors.forename: Kensuke
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yokota
authors.forename: Masao
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.forename: Susumu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kurihara
authors.forename: Takuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Awata
authors.forename: Shigehiro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Katayama
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D044466:Asian People; D015992:Body Mass Index; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005260:Female; D005907:Gliclazide / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005905:Glyburide / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006442:Glycated Hemoglobin / Q000378:metabolism; D006706:Homeostasis; D006801:Humans; D007004:Hypoglycemic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D007333:Insulin Resistance; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology; D019233:Retreatment; D013453:Sulfonylurea Compounds / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D005907:Gliclazide; D005905:Glyburide; D006442:Glycated Hemoglobin; D007004:Hypoglycemic Agents; D013453:Sulfonylurea Compounds; C057619:glimepiride