title: Potential for combination of dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors and sodium-glucose co-transporter-2 inhibitors for the treatment of type 2 diabetes.
abstract: In individuals with advanced type 2 diabetes (T2DM), combination therapy is often unavoidable to maintain glycaemic control. Currently metformin is considered the first line of defence, but many patients experience gastrointestinal adverse events, necessitating an alternative treatment approach. Established therapeutic classes, such as sulphonylureas and thiazolidinediones, have some properties undesirable in individuals with T2DM, such as hypoglycaemia risk, weight gain and fluid retention, highlighting the need for newer agents with more favourable safety profiles that can be combined and used at all stages of T2DM. New treatment strategies have focused on both dipeptidyl peptidase (DPP)-4 inhibitors, which improve hyperglycaemia by stimulating insulin secretion in a glucose-dependent fashion and suppressing glucagon secretion, and sodium-glucose co-transporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors, which reduce renal glucose reabsorption and induce urinary glucose excretion, thereby lowering plasma glucose. The potential complimentary mechanism of action and good tolerance profile of these two classes of agents make them attractive treatment options for combination therapy with any of the existing glucose-lowering agents, including insulin. Together, the DPP-4 and SGLT2 inhibitors fulfill a need for treatments with mechanisms of action that can be used in combination with a low risk of adverse events, such as hypoglycaemia or weight gain.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.
authors.forename: M D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Sharma
mesh_terms: D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000187:drug effects; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy*; D054873:Dipeptidyl-Peptidase IV Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D006442:Glycated Hemoglobin / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D000077203:Sodium-Glucose Transporter 2 Inhibitors
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose; D054873:Dipeptidyl-Peptidase IV Inhibitors; D006442:Glycated Hemoglobin; D000077203:Sodium-Glucose Transporter 2 Inhibitors; C517652:hemoglobin A1c protein, human
keywords: DPP-IV inhibitor; SGLT2 inhibitor; anti-hyperglycaemic drug; dual inhibitor combination therapy; type 2 diabetes