Pharmacotherapy for gestational diabetes
Introduction: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) represents impaired carbohydrate metabolism during pregnancy and is characterized by progressive insulin resistance and compensatory hyperinsulinaemia. If inadequately treated, it may lead to fetal macrosomia and other adverse outcomes. Areas covered: In this review, the authors summarize the current evidence from studies on the use of insulin and other agents for the treatment of women with GDM. Expert opinion: Lifestyle management is of paramount importance for the treatment of GDM. In pharmacotherapy, insulin remains the long-established mainstay of treatment. NPH (Neutral Protamine Hagedorn) and soluble human insulin have long been estab…
Pharmacotherapy for gestational diabetes mellitus: still insulin, or what about sulfonylureas?
Randomized trials have not focused on neonatal complications of glyburide for women with gestational diabetes.To compare oral glyburide vs subcutaneous insulin in prevention of perinatal complications in newborns of women with gestational diabetes.The Insulin Daonil trial (INDAO), a multicenter noninferiority randomized trial conducted between May 2012 and November 2016 (end of participant follow-up) in 13 tertiary care university hospitals in France including 914 women with singleton pregnancies and gestational diabetes diagnosed between 24 and 34 weeks of gestation.Women who required pharmacologic treatment after 10 days of dietary intervention were randomly assigned to receive glyburide …
Advances in pharmacological treatment of type 1 diabetes during pregnancy.
Introduction: In women with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM), pregnancy is associated with a potential risk of maternal, foetal and neonatal outcomes. Stringent metabolic control is required to improve these outcomes. Areas covered: In this review, the authors summarise the current evidence from studies on the pharmacological therapy and on monitoring of T1DM during pregnancy. The authors also discuss the use of new technologies to improve therapeutic management and patient compliance. Expert opinion: Pre-conception counselling is essential in T1DM to minimise pregnancy risks. Pregnancy in T1DM is always considered a high-risk pregnancy. During pregnancy, the target haemoglobin A1C (HbA1c) i…
Novel molecular markers of cardiovascular disease risk in type 2 diabetes mellitus
Diabetes represents the leading risk factor for the development of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Chronic hyperglycemia and/or acute post-prandial changes in blood glucose determine an increase in reactive oxygen species (ROS), which play a fundamental role in endothelial dysfunction and in the nuclear transport of pro-atherogenic transcription factors that activate the "inflammasome". In addition, the glycemic alteration favors the formation and stabilization of atherosclerotic plaque through the mechanism of non-enzymatic glycation of different molecules, with the establishment of the so-called "advanced glycosylation end products" (AGE). Laboratory information provided by the level of bio…
Current Pharmacological Treatment of Painful Diabetic Neuropathy: A Narrative Review.
Background and Objectives: Distal symmetrical polyneuropathy (DSPN) is one of the most common chronic complications of diabetes mellitus. Although it is usually characterized by progressive sensory loss, some patients may develop chronic pain. Assessment of DSPN is not difficult, but the biggest challenge is making the correct diagnosis and choosing the right treatment. The treatment of DSPN has three primary objectives: glycemic control, pathogenic mechanisms, and pain management. The aim of this brief narrative review is to summarize the current pharmacological treatment of painful DSPN. It also summarizes knowledge on pathogenesis-oriented therapy, which is generally overlooked in many p…
Experimental and Emerging Free Fatty Acid Receptor Agonists for the Treatment of Type 2 Diabetes
The current management of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) includes incretin-based treatments able to enhance insulin secretion and peripheral insulin sensitivity as well as improve body mass, inflammation, plasma lipids, blood pressure, and cardiovascular outcomes. Dietary Free Fatty Acids (FFA) regulate metabolic and anti-inflammatory processes through their action on incretins. Selective synthetic ligands for FFA1-4 receptors have been developed as potential treatments for T2DM. To comprehensively review the available evidence for the potential role of FFA receptor agonists in the treatment of T2DM, we performed an electronic database search assessing the association between FFAs, T2DM, i…
Metabolic disorders during pregnancy and postpartum cardiometabolic risk
Hormonal changes during pregnancy can trigger gestational diabetes (GDM), which is constantly increasing. Its main characteristic is pronounced insulin resistance, but it appears to be a multifactorial process involving several metabolic factors; taken together, the latter leads to silent or clinically evident cardiovascular (CV) events. Insulin resistance and central adiposity are of crucial importance in the development of metabolic syndrome, and they appear to correlate with CV risk factors, including hypertension and atherogenic dyslipidaemia. Hypertensive disease of pregnancy (HDP) is more likely to be an accompanying co-morbidity in pregnancies complicated with GDM. There is still inc…
New antihyperglycaemic agents and cardiovascular disease: let's be optimistic.
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) substantially increases mortality in diabetes mellitus. This narrative review highlights recent research on the putative associations between dipeptyl peptidase 4 inhibitors, glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs) and sodium glucose co-transporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT-2is) and several cardiovascular risk factors.New antihyperglycaemic agents favourably modulate several CVD risk factors, including fasting and postprandial plasma glucose levels, body weight, blood pressure, lipids, microalbuminuria, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, serum uric acid, and arterial stiffness. Liraglutide (in LEADER), semaglutide (in SUSTAIN-6), empagliflozin (in EMPA-REG …