Abstract

Patients with type 2 diabetes have dual defects: insulin resistance and beta-cell dysfunction. Thiazolidinediones (TZDs), a new class of oral drugs used for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, reduce insulin resistance via an action on peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors. There is also growing evidence that TZDs may preserve beta-cell function. Pioglitazone is a TZD that provides appropriate monotherapy or combination treatment for patients with type 2 diabetes. Studies of up to 32-week duration have shown that pioglitazone significantly reduces HbA1c and fasting plasma glucose when used alone or in combination with another glucose-lowering agent. Four recently published 52-week clinical trials, involving over 3700 patients with type 2 diabetes, show that pioglitazone is an effective long-term treatment, both as monotherapy and in combination with metformin or sulphonylurea. As well as maintaining glycaemic control over the long term, pioglitazone also confers benefits in terms of improvements in fasting insulin, lipid parameters, C-peptide and 32,33-split proinsulin (independent predictors of cardiovascular risk) and hypoglycaemia compared with other monotherapies or combination therapies. It is well tolerated, with a low incidence of adverse events. These long-term data support the concept that pioglitazone should be used earlier in the treatment of type 2 diabetes, either as monotherapy or as add-on therapy.