Oral Antidiabetics

Diabetes continues to spread worldwide. Traditionally diabetes in adults has not been considered a serious life-threatening disease. This attitude needs to be changed, however, since the complications associated with the adult form of diabetes affect almost every organ system. The high morbidity and mortality of Non-Insulin-Dependent Diabetes Mellitus (NIDDM) suggest that current treatment strategies are unsatisfactory, pointing to an urgent need for new therapeutic approaches. This volume provides a comprehensive description and evaluation of recently obtained and previously unpublished data written by leading experts in the field, together with a discussion of antidiabetics under development and new approaches for the management of type 2 diabetes.

Even though we have many advances in the development of oral hypoglycemic agents, an ideal drug for treating type 2 diabetes is still a distant reality. Today, physicians can choose from a variety of medications targeting numerous facets of disease, but each drug class poses some limitations. The age-old molecules, such as sulfonylureas and biguanides, are still valued because of their well-studied mode of action, safety, tolerability, and predictable pharmacodynamic effects. This book attempts to describe the historical aspects and advances in the arena of oral hypoglycemic agents, extended- and sustained-release formulations of glipizide and metformin (both of which have great promise in the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus) as well as evaluates the role of the group in diabetic foot infections.

A history of diabetology told by renowned contributors, many have themselves already become a part of diabetes history. A must-have for every diabetologist! Diabetologists, diabetes educators, and many interested readers will appreciate this book. What is more, countless celebrations are planned for the 100th anniversary of the discovery of insulin: this book provides numerous illustrations, accounts of personal experiences, and critical remarks on the history of diabetology – in addition to the history of insulin. It spans an arc from antiquity to the work of Claude Bernard, Paul Langerhans, Josef von Mering, Apollinaire Bouchardat, Oskar Minkowski, E.P. Joslin, and F.M. Allen. The history of insulin is presented from the perspective of diabetologists from Scotland, Spain, Germany, and Poland. The history of oral antidiabetics is told by Harald Lebovitz, and the chapter about glitazones by Edwin Gale reads like a spy novel! Pierre Lefèbvre describes the work of the diabetologist Jean Pirart and the history of glucagon. Sir George Alberti has provided a chapter about the therapy of ketoacidosis, to which he himself made groundbreaking contributions. Nephropathy is presented by Hans-Henrik Parving, and Eva Kohner, Ronald Klein and Barbara E.K. Klein have contributed a chapter on retinopathy. Other contemporary topics such diabetes in pregnancy, diabetes technology, psychosocial aspects of diabetes, and the history of the EASD and ADA are also included in this book.

Featuring more than 4100 references, Drug-Induced Liver Disease will be an invaluable reference for gastroenterologists, hepatologists, family physicians, internists, pathologists, pharmacists, pharmacologists, and clinical toxicologists, and graduate and medical school students in these disciplines.

Oral medication should be introduced at an early stage. In the absence of contraindications, medication should be started when the HbA1c concentration exceeds 6.5–7.0% (48–53 mmol/mol) despite non-pharmacological intervention. Metformin is the drug of choice. If one antidiabetic drug does not lower the HbA1c value to below 7.0 % (53 mmol/mol), add another and possibly a third antidiabetic drug unless there are contraindications. Insulin therapy must be initiated at the latest when HbA1c remains over 7.0% despite medication with oral antidiabetic drugs or with injectable GLP-1 analogues. A GLP-1 analogue may also be combined with basic insulin treatment.

Providing comprehensive information on more than 750 generic and over 3,500 trade-name drugs in an easy-to-use A-to-Z format, this handbook is organized by the nursing process, including assessment, nursing diagnosis, and planning and implementation.