Patients with type 2 diabetes experience progressive loss of glycaemic control and require intensification of glucose-lowering therapies. Durable glycaemic control has been shown to reduce microvascular and macrovascular complications in patients with type 1 diabetes or type 2 diabetes. The range of available glucose-lowering agents has been expanded with the addition of the thiazolidinediones (TZDs) pioglitazone androsiglitazone and, more recently, dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors and the glucagon-like peptide-1 analogue exenatide. In clinical trials, the TZDs have provided sustained glycaemic control, both in monotherapy and in combination with metformin and sulphonylureas. Pioglitazone has also been associated with improvements in the long-term cardiovascular morbidity and mortality of patients with type 2 diabetes.
Br J Diabetes Vasc Dis 2009;9:53—63