Sulfonylureas in diabetes treatment

Somia Iqtadar, MBBS, is an associate professor of medicine at King Edward Medical University, Pakistan, and chairperson of the Dengue Expert Advisory Group.

What is the current place of sulfonylureas in the type 2 diabetes treatment model?

Sulfonylureas are time-tested, very effective antidiabetic medications, and I think they will continue to remain so because of their glycemic control. There’s a lot of data coming on novel antidiabetic drugs, but there’s also a lot of data coming on the safety of sulfonylureas, especially the newer-generation sulfonylureas. They are an excellent source of glycemic control in the low- and middle-income countries—in the resource-limited settings—and I think they will continue to be part of the diabetes care plan in these settings.

There is a little concern about hypoglycemia, weight gain, and having no effect on insulin resistance, but I think that in combination with other drugs, this is an excellent [element of] diabetes care.