Do We Need New Treatments for Type 2 Diabetes?
Hello. I am Cliff Bailey, Professor of Clinical Science at Aston University in Birmingham, United Kingdom. It is my pleasure to be able to say a few words about sodium glucose co-transporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors as a new type of treatment for type 2 diabetes to control hyperglycemia.
You might reasonably ask why we want new treatments for type 2 diabetes, bearing in mind the selection that we have already, so I would like to preface these words with some words about type 2 diabetes as a heterogeneous and progressive disease. It has a multivariable etiopathology, meaning that essentially there are many different factors that contribute to type 2 diabetes to different extents in different individuals, and these play out to a greater or lesser extent as the disease progresses. Therefore, we need different treatments and different combinations of treatments to focus on these different factors at different times as the disease progresses.
Glycemic control is an important issue in type 2 diabetes. Blood pressure control is very important and lipid control is very important. We now have very good evidence that good glycemic control, especially at the very beginning of type 2 diabetes, after diagnosis, is also very important in the long term to reduce the onset and severity of the complications of type 2 diabetes and to reduce macrovascular risk. Therefore, there is very good rationale for using as many therapies as we need at different times to control hyperglycemia.
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Cite this: Where Do SGLT2 Inhibitors Fit in Diabetes Care? - Medscape - Oct 15, 2013.
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