Effect of Acarbose in Treatment of Type II Diabetes Mellitus: A Double-blind, Crossover, Placebo-controlled Trial
SUPAMAI SOONTHORNPUN, M.D.*, ATCHARA THAMPRASIT, B.N.*, CHATCHALIT RATTARASARN, M.D.*, KALAYA LEETANAPORN, M.Sc.**
Affiliation : * Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Medicine, ** Division of Nuclear Medicine, Department of Radiology, Faculty of Medicine, Prince of Songkla University. Songkhla 90112, Thailand.
Abstract This study evaluated the efficacy of acarbose in improvement of metabolic control in patients with fairly, well controlled non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM). Fifteen patients with mean age and duration of diabetes of 57.5±2.6 (SE) and 7.5±1.5 years, respec- tively were recruited and completed our study protocol. This study was a double-blind, crossover, placebo-controlled design consisting of two twelve-week treatments of acarbose and placebo separated by an eight-week washout period. Acarbose was effective in lowering of !-hour and 2-hour postprandial plasma glucose from 251.7±10.7 and 205.3±9.1 mg/dl to 197.4±7.0 (p= 0.001) and 181.5±8.5 mg/dl (p=0.03), respectively. Fasting plasma glucose was slightly decreased but without significant change, from 150.8±7.3 to 140.8±6.1 mg/dl (p=0.07). Overall glycemic control tended to improve during the study period as indicated by the falling of HbA1c levels from 7.7±0.4 to 7.0±0.2 per cent (p=0.05). Serum C-peptide both fasting and post- prandial as well as serum lipids were not affected by acarbose. Almost half of the patients treated with acarbose had mild and tolerable gastrointestinal adverse effects. In conclusion, acarbose, as combined therapy with other oral hypoglycemic agents, was effective in improvement of glycemic control particularly postprandial hyperglycemia in fairly, well controlled NIDDM patients with mild and acceptable adverse effects.
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