title: Long-term efficacy of sulfonylureas: a United Kingdom Prospective Diabetes Study perspective.
abstract: The United Kingdom Prospective Diabetes Study shows sulfonylureas to be an effective first-line therapy for people with type 2 diabetes mellitus. The durability of the glycemic control obtained is dependent on the degree to which beta-cell function can be maintained, but sulfonylureas appear neither to increase nor to decrease the underlying rate of loss of beta-cell function. As sulfonylureas act by enhancing insulin secretion, they are probably best used close to the time when diabetes is diagnosed when beta-cell function is at its greatest and their utility can be extended by judicious use in combination with agents that improve glycemia by different modes of action, including insulin.
authors.affiliation: Diabetes Trials Unit, OCDEM, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7LJ, UK.
authors.forename: Rury R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Holman
mesh_terms: D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000378:metabolism; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D006442:Glycated Hemoglobin / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D007004:Hypoglycemic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D007328:Insulin / Q000627:therapeutic use; D007515:Islets of Langerhans / Q000187:drug effects / Q000503:physiopathology; D008687:Metformin / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013453:Sulfonylurea Compounds / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006113:United Kingdom
chemical_list: D006442:Glycated Hemoglobin; D007004:Hypoglycemic Agents; D007328:Insulin; D008687:Metformin; D013453:Sulfonylurea Compounds