Diabetes Treatment

Diabetes is a very serious problem which continues throughout the life. There are many different types of medications available to treat diabetes. Each type of medicine has its own way of working. Often, two or more types of medications are combined to get the best effect with fewest side-effects. Here are a few medications which are used for the treatment of diabetes:


1) Sulfonylureas: These drugs stimulate pancreas to make more insulin.

2) Biguanides: It decreases the amount of glucose produced by your liver.

3) Alpha-glucosidase inhibitors: These agents slower down the absorption of the starches that you eat which slows down the production of glucose.

4) Thiazolidinediones: These agents enhance your sensitivity to insulin.

5) Meglitinides: These drugs also stimulate pancreas to make more insulin.

6) D-phenylalanine derivatives: These agents stimulate the production of insulin more quickly.

7) Amylin synthetic derivatives: Amylin is a naturally occurring hormone which is secreted by the pancreas along with insulin. An amylin derivative is prescribed when blood sugar control is not achieved despite optimal insulin therapy. As a subcutaneous injection, pramlintide is administered along with insulin. It helps achieve lower blood sugar levels after meals. It also reduces the fluctuation of blood sugar levels throughout the day, and improves hemoglobin A1C levels.

8) Incretin mimetics: Incretin mimetics work by promoting insulin secretion by the pancreas. Exenatide (Byetta) is an approved medicine which is prescribed for diabetes mellitus type 2, when other agents such as metformin or sulfonylurea alone fail to gain control over blood sugar level.

9) Insulins: In the United States, human insulin is the only type of insulin which is available. It is better than animal-derived varieties of insulin. It causes less allergic reactions. Some of the rapid-acting insulins include Insulin glulisine (Apidra), Inhaled insulin (Exubera), Regular insulin (Humulin R, Novolin R), and Insulin lispro (Humalog). Names of some of the Intermediate-acting insulins are- Isophane insulin, neutral protamine Hagedorn (NPH), and Insulin zinc (Lente). Whereas, some of the long-acting insulins are- Insulin detemir (Levemir), Extended insulin zinc insulin (Ultralente), and Insulin glargine (Lantus).