α-Glucosidase Inhibitor Prevents the Development of Impaired Glucose Tolerance in Type 2 Diabetes

Abstract

We studied whether long-term treatment using α-glucosidase inhibitor (α GI), acarbose, prevents thed evelopment of impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) into diabetes.
Subjects with IGT were divided into 2 groups matched for age, gender, and body mass index (BMI).Subjects were trained in diet therapy (2, 5 kcal/kg body weight) before the study and treated with (group A) or without (group B)α-glucosidase inhibitor (α-GI) for 6 months.Subjects underwent a 75 g oral glucose tolernce test (OGTT) with serum glucose and insulin concentration measured at 0, 60, and 120 min before and after 6 months of treatment.Insulin resistance was assessed by the homeostasis model assessment (HOMA-R) index.Serum glucose before or after glucose loading in both groups was reduced significantly after treatment.Serum glucose in group A were not significantly reduced compared to those in group B, however, the HOMA-R index of group A was more reduced than that of group B (A: 3.64±0.01 vs 2.07±0.01, B: 3.64±0.02 vs 2.86±0.01;p<0.05, before vs after), suggesting that the insulin resistance of group A was significantly improved compared to that of group B (p<0.05).Our results suggest that α GI treatment in high-risk subjects before diabetes onset prevents IGT from developing into diabetes.