title: Dapagliflozin (Forxiga) for type 2 diabetes?
abstract: In the UK, diabetes mellitus affects around 3 million people, of whom over 90% have type 2 diabetes. Aims of treatment include minimising long-term complications (e.g. cardiovascular disease, blindness, chronic kidney disease, premature mortality) and avoiding unwanted effects of treatment (e.g. severe hypoglycaemia, weight gain). Management of diabetes includes patient support and education; addressing symptoms; lifestyle modification; targeting associated risk factors for cardiovascular disease; and surveillance for, and management of, complications including treatment-related hypoglycaemia. Dapagliflozin (Forxiga) belongs to a new class of oral glucose-lowering drugs that inhibit renal glucose reabsorption and promote glycosuria. It is licensed in the UK in adults with type 2 diabetes as monotherapy when diet and exercise alone do not provide adequate glycaemic control and who are unable to tolerate metformin; or, as add-on therapy, with other glucose-lowering agents including insulin, when these, with diet and exercise, do not provide adequate glycaemic control. The company's advertising materials claim that dapagliflozin provides a "novel method of controlling excess glucose" with "secondary benefit of weight loss". Here, we review the evidence for the use of dapagliflozin in the management of type 2 diabetes mellitus.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D001559:Benzhydryl Compounds; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D017277:Drug Approval; D005960:Glucosides / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D007004:Hypoglycemic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006113:United Kingdom / Q000453:epidemiology; D015431:Weight Loss / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D001559:Benzhydryl Compounds; D001786:Blood Glucose; D005960:Glucosides; D007004:Hypoglycemic Agents; C529054:dapagliflozin