title: Something old, something new and something very old: drugs for treating type 2 diabetes.
abstract: Diabetes mellitus belongs to the most rapidly increasing diseases worldwide. Approximately 90-95% of these patients suffer from type 2 diabetes mellitus, which is characterized by peripheral insulin resistance and the progressive loss of beta-cell function and mass. Considering the complications of this chronic disease, a reliable anti-diabetic treatment is indispensable. An ideal oral anti-diabetic drug should not only correct glucose homeostasis but also preserve or even augment beta-cell function and mass, ameliorate the subclinical inflammation present under insulin-resistant conditions and prevent the macro- and microvascular consequences of diabetes in order to reduce the mortality. Despite the many anti-diabetic drugs already in use, there is an ongoing research for additional drugs, guided by different concepts of the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes. This review will briefly summarize current oral anti-diabetic drugs. In addition, emerging strategies for the treatment of diabetes will be described, among them the inhibition of glucagon action and anti-inflammatory drugs. Their suitability as 'ideal anti-diabetic drugs' will be discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, Cardiovascular Research Center, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kaiser
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Oetjen
mesh_terms: D000284:Administration, Oral; D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems; D015195:Drug Design; D006801:Humans; D007004:Hypoglycemic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D050417:Insulin-Secreting Cells / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D020156:Salicylic Acid / Q000627:therapeutic use; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D001786:Blood Glucose; D007004:Hypoglycemic Agents; D020156:Salicylic Acid
keywords: anti-diabetic drugs; beta-cell function; inflammation; insulin resistance; type 2 diabetes mellitus