title: Comparison of the efficacy of glimepiride, metformin, and rosiglitazone monotherapy in korean drug-naïve type 2 diabetic patients: the practical evidence of antidiabetic monotherapy study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Although many anti-diabetic drugs have been used to control hyperglycemia for decades, the efficacy of commonly-used oral glucose-lowering agents in Korean type 2 diabetic patients has yet to be clearly demonstrated.
  
  
  METHODS
  We evaluated the efficacy of glimepiride, metformin, and rosiglitazone as initial treatment for drug-naïve type 2 diabetes mellitus patients in a 48-week, double-blind, randomized controlled study that included 349 Korean patients. Our primary goal was to determine the change in HbA1c levels from baseline to end point. Our secondary goal was to evaluate changes in fasting plasma glucose (FPG) levels, body weight, frequency of adverse events, and the proportion of participants achieving target HbA1c levels.
  
  
  RESULTS
  HbA1c levels decreased from 7.8% to 6.9% in the glimepiride group (P<0.001), from 7.9% to 7.0% in the metformin group (P<0.001), and from 7.8% to 7.0% (P<0.001) in the rosiglitazone group. Glimepiride and rosiglitazone significantly increased body weight and metformin reduced body weight during the study period. Symptomatic hypoglycemia was more frequent in the glimepiride group and diarrhea was more frequent in the metformin group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The efficacy of glimepiride, metformin, and rosiglitazone as antidiabetic monotherapies in drug-naïve Korean type 2 diabetic patients was similar in the three groups, with no statistical difference. This study is the first randomized controlled trial to evaluate the efficacy of commonly-used oral hypoglycemic agents in Korean type 2 diabetic patients. An additional subgroup analysis is recommended to obtain more detailed information.
authors.affiliation: Department of Endocrinology, The Catholic University of Korea School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Kun Ho
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Yoon
authors.forename: Jeong Ah
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.forename: Hyuk Sang
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Kwon
authors.forename: Seung Hwan
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Kyung Wan
authors.initials: KW
authors.lastname: Min
authors.forename: Yu Bae
authors.initials: YB
authors.lastname: Ahn
authors.forename: Soon Jib
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Yoo
authors.forename: Kyu Jeung
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Ahn
authors.forename: Sung Woo
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Kwan Woo
authors.initials: KW
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Yeon Ah
authors.initials: YA
authors.lastname: Sung
authors.forename: Tae Sun
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Min Seon
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Yong Ki
authors.initials: YK
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Moon Suk
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Nam
authors.forename: Hye Soon
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Ie Byung
authors.initials: IeB
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Jong Suk
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Jeong Taek
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Woo
authors.forename: Ho Young
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Son