WEST HAVEN, Conn., Oct. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Adding the a-glucosidase
inhibitor, Precose(R) (acarbose tablets), to existing therapies for patients
with Type 2 diabetes improves long-term blood glucose control, according to
final results of the United Kingdom Prospective Diabetes Study (UKPDS).(1, 2)
The HbA1c (a measure of long term blood glucose levels) in the
Precose-treated patients fell from a mean of 7.9 to 7.4 percent -- a
significant improvement in blood glucose control that may help reduce the risk
of complications such as eye disease and kidney damage.
In the Precose arm of the UKPDS, 1,946 patients were allocated at random
to Precose therapy or placebo, titrating to a maximum dose of 100 mg three
times daily. The results showed that Precose lowered HbA1c by a highly
statistically significant mean of 0.5 percent compared with placebo (in actual
therapy analysis(3)).
Professor Rury Holman, co-director of the UKPDS, said that patients
experienced a very similar reduction in HbA1c over the three-year study period
regardless of which existing therapy Precose was added to -- insulin,
sulphonylurea, metformin or diet alone.
"This is an important finding as combination therapies are the future of
Type 2 diabetes management. Now that we know for certain the benefits of good
blood glucose control, we must persuade our patients to take all their
therapies," Professor Holman added.(4)
In order to improve compliance, he said it was important to explain that
different therapies act in different ways -- insulin and sulphonylureas
primarily reduce fasting glucose levels, and Precose mainly brings down
postprandial glucose (glucose levels after meals). "Precose specifically
targets the postprandial blood glucose and that is why it works nicely with
other agents," he added.
Professor Holman also pointed out that Precose therapy had a
weight-neutral effect. This was in contrast to the weight gains seen with
insulin therapy and sulphonylureas in the intensive control group of the
UKPDS.
"Patients can take Precose without fearing that they are going to gain
weight and all the additional problems that come with it," said Professor
Holman. He added that these included worsening insulin resistance.
Precose works with diet to reduce blood glucose levels in patients with
Type 2 diabetes who cannot be controlled by diet alone. Precose can be used
either alone or in combination with sulphonylureas, metformin or insulin.
It is important to inform patients of the likely side-effects of any
therapy. With Precose, these are mainly flatulence, abdominal pain and
diarrhea, but these may be reduced considerably by carefully titrating the
dose from a low start.
Bayer Corporation is a research-based company with major businesses in
health care and life sciences, chemicals and imaging technologies. The
company had 1997 sales of $9.3 billion and employs more than 26,000 people.
Bayer Corporation is investing $9 billion in capital expenditures and research
and development from 1995 through the year 2000. 1998 capital investment and
R&D expenditures are projected to total $1.7 billion. Bayer Corporation, with
headquarters in Pittsburgh, is a member of the worldwide Bayer Group, a
$32 billion chemical and pharmaceutical company based in Leverkusen, Germany.
NOTE:
1. The final results of the 20-year United Kingdom Prospective Diabetes
Study (UKPDS) were presented at the 34th Annual Meeting of the European
Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD), which was held in Barcelona,
Spain on September 8-12, 1998.
2. The UKPDS is the largest prospective randomised clinical trial ever
carried out in Type 2 diabetes. It was set up to determine whether improved
glucose control in patients with newly diagnosed Type 2 diabetes (formerly
called non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus or NIDDM) is effective in
preventing complications such as heart attacks and blindness. The study also
assessed whether specific therapy with insulin, sulphonylurea, metformin or
diet was beneficial or harmful. The study ended in 1997, by which time
subjects taking part had been receiving their randomly assigned therapies for
a median time of 11 years.
3. Acarbose reduced HbA1c by a mean of 0.5 percent compared with placebo
in patients who completed treatment. It achieved a 0.2 percent reduction
according to the strict "intent-to-treat" analysis, which includes patients
who failed to complete the three-year study.
4. Professor Holman's comments are from an interview at the 34th Annual
Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD), which
was held in Barcelona, Spain on September 8-12, 1998.
SOURCE Bayer Corporation Pharmaceutical Division
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