Metformin

People with type 2 diabetes who are treated with metformin prior to undergoing major surgical interventions may have better postoperative outcomes than those without exposure to the drug, researchers report.

Adding the DPP-4 inhibitor sitagliptin to first-line metformin therapy may delay the need for exogenous insulin among people with type 2 diabetes, researchers report.

Amrit Lamba discusses how the findings of VERIFY may influence how primary care practitioners will approach first-line treatment of people with type 2 diabetes (4:32).

Upfront combination therapy with vildagliptin and metformin is more durable than metformin alone, and appears to have a legacy effect, report the VERIFY investigators.

Findings from the SAVOR-TIMI 53 trial suggest that metformin treatment reduces cardiovascular and all-cause mortality but not nonfatal cardiovascular disease events, but a meta-analysis points to wider benefits.

Twenty years after the publication of the primary findings, medwireNews talks to longtime UKPDS investigator Professor David Matthews (University of Oxford, UK) about the struggles of the team to bring the trial to completion and the impact of the findings on diabetes care.

Upfront treatment with medications that target the underlying pathophysiology of prediabetes may slow patients’ progression to type 2 diabetes, report researchers.

Advisory Board member Theresa Smyth tackles an emergency case in a type 2 diabetes patient treated with empagliflozin. What went wrong and how should he be managed?

Diabetes medications are frequently unavailable and unaffordable, particularly in lower-income countries, shows an analysis of the PURE study.

Research shows that starting second-line sulfonylurea treatment is associated with an increased risk for cardiovascular and hypoglycemic events among patients with type 2 diabetes in clinical practice, although the risk is less if they continue using metformin rather than switching completely.

Harrington JL et al. Curr Diab Rep 2018; 18: 64. doi: 10.1007/s11892-018-1035-z

A European-wide case–control study finds little evidence for risk to the developing fetus if a mother is taking metformin.

The RISE trial investigators have found that increased insulin resistance and hyperresponsive beta cells may explain the rapid progression of type 2 diabetes in children.

Mehtälä J et al. Diabetol Int 2018. doi: 10.1007/s13340-018-0360-4

Dave N, Wu J, Thomas S. Curr Diab Rep 2018; 18: 44. doi: 10.1007/s11892-018-1010-8

Deng Z et al. Diabetes Ther 2018. doi: 10.1007/s13300-018-0448-7

The majority of adolescents and young adults with type 2 diabetes are still being treated with metformin and/or insulin, despite a growing number of medications being available for adults, US study data show.

Formoso G et al. Acta Diabetol 2018; 55: 759. doi: 10.1007/s00592-018-1134-y

Editorial Board member Sanjay Kalra presents a pragmatic approach to the use of sodium-glucose co-transporter-2 inhibitors in patients affected by acute coronary syndromes.

With the arrival of slow-release formulations of metformin and the relaxation of guidelines concerning its use in patients with kidney disease, Carol Wysham explains how the population of patients who might benefit from this medication has expanded.