title: Oral Hypoglycemic Drugs: Pathophysiological Basis of Their Mechanism of ActionOral Hypoglycemic Drugs: Pathophysiological Basis of Their Mechanism of Action.
abstract: Type 2 diabetes is a syndrome characterized by relative insulin deficiency, insulin resistance and increased hepatic glucose output. Medications used to treat the disease are designed to correct one or more of these metabolic abnormalities. Current recommendations of the American Diabetes Association (ADA) and European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) include diet and exercise as first-line therapy plus hypoglycemic drugs. Actually there are seven distinct classes of anti-hyperglicemic agents, each of them displaying unique pharmacologic properties. The aim of this review is to describe the pathophysiological basis of their mechanism of action, a necessary step to individualize treatment of diabetic people, taking into proper consideration potential benefits and secondary effects of drugs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, University of Turin, Corso Dogliotti 14, 10126 Turin, Italy. lorebato@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Bartolomeo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Lorenzati
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, University of Turin, Corso Dogliotti 14, 10126 Turin, Italy. chiara.zucco@gmail.it.
authors.forename: Chiara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zucco
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, University of Turin, Corso Dogliotti 14, 10126 Turin, Italy. sara.miglietta@libero.it.
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Miglietta
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, University of Turin, Corso Dogliotti 14, 10126 Turin, Italy. federicolam@libero.it.
authors.forename: Federico
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lamberti
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, University of Turin, Corso Dogliotti 14, 10126 Turin, Italy. graziella.bruno@unito.it.
authors.forename: Graziella
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bruno
keywords: hypoglycemic drugs; incretin mimetics; incretin mimeticshypoglycemic drugs; sulfonylureas; thiazolidinediones