title: Pioglitazone and metformin.
abstract: Pioglitazone and metformin have both proven safe and efficacious in the treatment of type 2 diabetes. Their combination into a single tablet seems logical. This article reviews the data that are available for this combination. Because the tablets are not currently widely available, the review examines some aspects of the effects of both agents separately and in the few trials where they have been administered concurrently, though not as a single pharmaceutical preparation. Based on this evidence, the combination appears therapeutically efficacious and clinically safe. The side effects are not multiplicative and reflect those predictable from monotherapy with either agent.
authors.affiliation: Oxford Centre for Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism, Churchill Hospital, Oxford, UK.
authors.forename: Nathan R
authors.initials: NR
authors.lastname: Hill
authors.forename: David R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Matthews
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000188:drug therapy*; D004338:Drug Combinations; D006801:Humans; D007004:Hypoglycemic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008687:Metformin / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000077205:Pioglitazone; D013810:Therapeutic Equivalency; D045162:Thiazolidinediones / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D004338:Drug Combinations; D007004:Hypoglycemic Agents; D045162:Thiazolidinediones; D008687:Metformin; D000077205:Pioglitazone