Evaluation of Efficacy and Tolerability of Glimepiride and Metformin Combination

Abstract

The objectives of this study were to evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of glimepiride plus extended release metformin (MET) on glycemic control in patients with type-2 diabetes mellitus uncontrolled on monotherapy with sulfonylurea or MET. This was a prospective, open-labeled, multicentric study over 12 weeks. Patients who were diagnosed with type-2 diabetes and were uncontrolled on monotherapy with single oral hypoglycemic agents such as glimepiride or MET and characterized by glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) ≥7% and ≤10% and fasting plasma glucose (FPG) ≥ 140 mg/dL were enrolled in this study. Treatment regimen was started at 1 mg of glimepiride plus 500 mg of MET once a day and was titrated to next dose level depending on the clinician's judgment, not exceeding a total daily dose of 8 mg of glimepiride and 2000 mg of MET. After 12-weektreatment, glimepiride plus MET combination showed improvement in metabolic control as assessed by changes in HbA1c, FPG, and post prandial glucose (PPG). Primary efficacy parameter, HbA1c, was significantly reduced to (7.65 ± 1.70) at the end of the treatment from the baseline value (8.35 ± 0.93) (P < 0.001). Of the patients, 65.79% showed ≥0.5% reduction in HbA1c and or HbA1c <7% at the end of the therapy. FPG and PPG were significantly reduced at the end of the therapy as compared with baseline values (P < 0.001). Moreover, the lipid profile was also improved during the treatment period. The addition of glimepiride to MET is an effective treatment for patients inadequately controlled on sulfonylurea or Met alone. A combination of glimepiride with MET achieves good glycemic control with better tolerability profile.