Mechanisms of current therapies for diabetes mellitus type 2

• Published in: Advances in physiology education Vol. 36; no. 4; pp. 275 - 283
• Main Author: Thulé, Peter M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Physiological Society 01.12.2012
• Subjects: Animals; Blood Glucose - drug effects; Blood Glucose - metabolism; Diabetes; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 - blood; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 - drug therapy; Dipeptidyl-Peptidase IV Inhibitors - pharmacology; Dipeptidyl-Peptidase IV Inhibitors - therapeutic use; Drug therapy; FDA approval; Glucagon-Like Peptide 1 - agonists; Glucagon-Like Peptide 1 - metabolism; Humans; Hyperglycemia; Hypoglycemic Agents - pharmacology; Hypoglycemic Agents - therapeutic use; Insulin - blood; Islet Amyloid Polypeptide - pharmacology; Islet Amyloid Polypeptide - therapeutic use; Pathology; Physiology; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic - methods; Refresher Course; United States > US
• ISSN: 1043-4046; 1522-1229
• DOI: 10.1152/advan.00094.2012

The array of medications available for the treatment of hyperglycemia has increased rapidly in the previous decade, and recent investigations have clarified novel mechanisms underlying the antihyperglycemic efficacy of these drugs. This article reviews the mechanisms of action for medications currently approved to treat diabetes mellitus in the United States, with the exception of insulin and its analogs. Finally, it attempts to integrate these mechanisms into the schema of pathophysiological factors that combine to produce hyperglycemia in patients with diabetes mellitus.