Tight glycemic control in the management of diabetic patients: what has changed since the '90s in the clinical approach?

Abstract

Tight glycemic control represents one of the major goals of the therapeutic management of diabetes mellitus. However, several clinical studies have reported that an intensive glucose-lowering treatment, especially when insulin or sulfonylureas are used, is associated with an increased risk of hypoglycemia and may exert negative effects on the cardiovascular risk. Hypoglycemia is the major side effect of antidiabetic therapy and it has also been associated with adverse cardiovascular events. The surge of sympathetic activity during hypoglycemic episodes may induce cardiac and cerebral ischemia and promote potentially fatal arrhythmias. In addition, hypoglycemic episodes have a negative effect on patient compliance to the antidiabetic treatment and consequently may worsen glycemic control, thus increasing the risk of micro- and macroangiopathic complications of diabetes. Therefore, in order to counteract the cardiovascular risk it is necessary achieving a good glycemic control through therapeutic strategies associated with a lower risk of hypoglycemia. Unlike treatment with sulfonylureas, glucagon-like peptide-1 analogs and dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors have been demonstrated to improve metabolic control without inducing hypoglycemia and, therefore, represent a new therapeutic option for type 2 diabetes, which offer the advantage of combining glucose-lowering activity with a low risk of hypoglycemia, thus providing a greater cardiovascular protection.