Sulfonylureas

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.

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.

Sulfonylurea treatment is durably effective with a low rate of side effects in patients with permanent neonatal diabetes caused by mutations in the KCNJ11 gene, a study in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology shows.

A head-to-head trial in women with gestational diabetes has failed to prove that glyburide is statistically noninferior to insulin in terms of perinatal outcomes.

Dickens LT, Naylor RN. Curr Diab Rep 2018; 18: 12. doi: 10.1007/s11892-018-0982-8

The drive to achieve lower HbA1c targets in older patients is not without concern or risk. Our UK Board address concerns highlighted by recent trials and discuss whether current guidelines do enough to mitigate the risks of overtreatment.