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OBJECTIVE To assess the efficacy of combination therapy with insulin and sulfonylurea in the treatment of NIDDM. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Studies published between January 1966 and January 1991 were identified through a computerized Medline search and by hand searching the bibliographies of identified articles. We identified 17 eligible randomized, controlled trials of combination therapy in NIDDM. These trials had a minimum duration of 8 wk and at least one of three outcome measures (fasting glucose, HbA1, or C-peptide) with SD or SE of the mean reported to do metaanalysis. With standardized forms, three independent reviews abstracted measures of study quality and specific descriptive information about population, intervention, and outcome measurements. RESULTS We calculated effect size and weighted mean changes of the three outcome measures for control and treatment groups. In the treatment group, the fasting plasma glucose decreased from a mean of 11.4 mM (206 mg/dl) at baseline to a mean of 9.16 mM (165 mg/dl) posttreatment, whereas the control group decreased from (11.3 to 10.8 mM) (204 to 194 mg/dl) (effect size 0.39, P < 0.0001). For HbA1, the treatment group decreased from a baseline of 11.0 to 10.2% compared to 11.0 and 11.2% in the control group (effect size 0.43, P < 0.0001). For fasting C-peptide, the treatment group increased from 0.49 to 0.58 nM (1.45 to 1.75 ng/ml) compared with 0.47 and 0.43 (1.42 and 1.30) for the control group (effect size 0.26, P < 0.017). CONCLUSION Combined insulin-sulfonylurea therapy leads to modest improvement in glycemic control compared with insulin therapy alone. With combined therapy, lower insulin doses may be used to achieve similar control. Obese patients with higher fasting C-peptides may be more likely to respond than others.

We evaluated therapeutic usefulness of the second-generation sulfonylurea agents glyburide and glipizide in non-insulin-dependent diabetic patients who were secondary failures on chlorpropamide or tolazamide. Twenty patients were treated with glyburide, and 10 of them were subsequently treated with glipizide. Fasting and postprandial serum glucose, insulin, C-peptide, glycosylated hemoglobin, urinary C-peptide, and glucose levels all failed to show significant improvement. We conclude that both glyburide and glipizide proved ineffective in the treatment of secondary failures to first-generation sulfonylureas.

To determine whether long-term sulfonylurea therapy ameliorates glucose homeostasis in patients with NIDDM predominantly by improving insulin secretion or by improving insulin action, we evaluated changes in fasting plasma glucose concentrations, intravenous glucose tolerance, glucose-stimulated insulin secretion, facilitation of glucose disposal by exogenous insulin, and erythrocyte insulin receptor binding before and after prolonged (congruent to 4 mo) administration of tolazamide to 18 patients with NIDDM. Before tolazamide administration, 15 patients had decreased insulin secretion (50 +/- 31 vs 577 +/- 176 microU/ml X 10 min in nondiabetic subjects, P less than 0.05) and insulin resistance (Km 166 +/- 31 vs 58 +/- 3 microU/ml in nondiabetic subjects, P less than 0.05; Vmax 7.3 +/- 0.6 vs 9.8 +/- 0.2 mg/kg/min in nondiabetic subjects, P less than 0.05), whereas the other three patients had comparably impaired insulin secretion (56 +/- 52 microU/ml X min) but were not insulin resistant (Km 70 +/- 6 microU/ml; Vmax 10.8 +/- 0.6 mg/kg/min). The insulin-resistant patients had fasting hyperinsulinemia (19 +/- 4 vs 11 +/- 1 microU/ml in nondiabetic subjects, P less than 0.05), decreased erythrocyte insulin receptor binding (4.8 +/- 0.4 vs 5.8 +/- 0.3%/1.6 X 10(9) cells in nondiabetic subjects, P less than 0.05), and impairment in both insulin-induced suppression of glucose production (Km 97 +/- 31 vs 21 +/- 7 microU/ml in nondiabetic subjects, P less than 0.05), and insulin-induced stimulation of glucose utilization (Km and Vmax 176 +/- 29 microU/ml and 5.8 +/- 0.7 mg/kg/min vs 50 +/- 2 microU/ml and 9.1 +/- 0.6 mg/kg/min in nondiabetic subjects, both P less than 0.05). The nonresistant patients were not hyperinsulinemic (12 +/- micU/ml), had normal insulin receptor binding (5.9 +/- 0.5%/1.6 X 10(9) cells), and were less hyperglycemic than the insulin-resistant patients (128 +/- 11 vs 181 +/- 12 mg/dl, P less than 0.05). After tolazamide administration, both the early phase of glucose-induced insulin secretion (56 +/- 52 vs 141 +/- 68 microU/ml . 10 min) and insulin binding (5.9 +/- 0.5 vs 7.0 +/- 0.5%/1.6 X 10(9) cells) increased in all three nonresistant patients, but there was no consistent improvement in fasting hyperglycemia (128 +/- 11 vs 130 +/- 24 mg/dl), intravenous glucose tolerance (Kivgtt 0.77 +/- 0.18 vs 0.89 +/- 0.29%/min), or facilitation of glucose disposal by insulin (Km 70 +/- 5 vs 64 +/- 5 microU/ml; Vmax 10.8 +/- 0.6 vs 10.1 +/- 0.2 mg/kg/min).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

We have utilized primary cultures of rat hepatocytes to study insulin resistance in the liver of nonketotic streptozotocin-diabetic animals. Diabetes mellitus is associated with insulin resistance with regard to hepatic lipogenesis. This resistance is profound at serum glucose levels above 400 mg/dl and, below that, inversely related to the serum glucose. The insulin resistance can be reversed by in vivo treatment of animals with insulin, indicating that the resistance to insulin is secondary to the diabetic state. However, the in vitro treatment of primary cultures of hepatocytes with insulin, a variety of glycolytic intermediates, or a combination of the two does not reverse the resistance to insulin. Thus, in contrast to cells from fasted animals, in vivo factors other than insulin are important to the recovery of hepatic insulin responsiveness. With regard to the mechanism of this insulin resistance, insulin binding is normal to increased, suggesting postbinding mechanisms. To further define the mechanism(s) of insulin resistance, we evaluated the ability of insulin to release the putative second messenger of insulin action from a liver particulate fraction. Insulin reproducibly and significantly enhanced the release of mediator from the liver particulate fraction of control animals, but the particulate fraction from diabetic animals was resistant to this effect of insulin. Insulin treatment of animals restored the ability of liver particulate fractions to release mediator in response to insulin. These data support the concept that alterations at or near the plasma membrane can be responsible for or accompany the insulin resistance observed in the liver in diabetes mellitus.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Sulfonylurea agents have been well documented to be effective in type II diabetes mellitus by increasing insulin secretion as well as by enhancing cellular binding of endogenous insulin. We have examined in 20 type I diabetic subjects the efficacy of tolazamide, a common sulfonylurea agent, as adjuvant therapy in combination with an appropriate diet and insulin. This regimen decreased the insulin dose while continuing to maintain adequate metabolic control, as reflected by fasting plasma glucose (FPG) 150 mg/dl and HbA1 > 9%) with insulin alone, the adjuvant therapy with tolazamide improved or normalized hyperglycemia and HbA1. In 13 subjects in whom adequate metabolic control was achieved with combination therapy, metabolic control worsened on withdrawal of tolazamide while continuing insulin in the same dosage and adequate metabolic control promptly returned on reinstitution of combination therapy with insulin and tolazamide. In the remaining seven subjects, metabolic control remained adequate with combination therapy during the 4–10-mo follow-up period. This study therefore demonstrates that combination therapy with sulfonylurea agent and insulin may be beneficial in management of type I diabetes. Furthermore, this regimen may be helpful in prevention of extreme plasma glucose excursions observed in brittle diabetic individuals. A larger, long-term clinical trial with this regimen in type I diabetic subjects must be undertaken to establish this preliminary finding.

To determine whether long-term sulfonylurea therapy ameliorates glucose homeostasis in patients with NIDDM predominantly by improving insulin secretion or by improving insulin action, we evaluated changes in fasting plasma glucose concentrations, intravenous glucose tolerance, glucose-stimulated insulin secretion, facilitation of glucose disposal by exogenous insulin, and erythrocyte insulin receptor binding before and after prolonged (congruent to 4 mo) administration of tolazamide to 18 patients with NIDDM. Before tolazamide administration, 15 patients had decreased insulin secretion (50 +/- 31 vs 577 +/- 176 microU/ml X 10 min in nondiabetic subjects, P less than 0.05) and insulin resistance (Km 166 +/- 31 vs 58 +/- 3 microU/ml in nondiabetic subjects, P less than 0.05; Vmax 7.3 +/- 0.6 vs 9.8 +/- 0.2 mg/kg/min in nondiabetic subjects, P less than 0.05), whereas the other three patients had comparably impaired insulin secretion (56 +/- 52 microU/ml X min) but were not insulin resistant (Km 70 +/- 6 microU/ml; Vmax 10.8 +/- 0.6 mg/kg/min). The insulin-resistant patients had fasting hyperinsulinemia (19 +/- 4 vs 11 +/- 1 microU/ml in nondiabetic subjects, P less than 0.05), decreased erythrocyte insulin receptor binding (4.8 +/- 0.4 vs 5.8 +/- 0.3%/1.6 X 10(9) cells in nondiabetic subjects, P less than 0.05), and impairment in both insulin-induced suppression of glucose production (Km 97 +/- 31 vs 21 +/- 7 microU/ml in nondiabetic subjects, P less than 0.05), and insulin-induced stimulation of glucose utilization (Km and Vmax 176 +/- 29 microU/ml and 5.8 +/- 0.7 mg/kg/min vs 50 +/- 2 microU/ml and 9.1 +/- 0.6 mg/kg/min in nondiabetic subjects, both P less than 0.05). The nonresistant patients were not hyperinsulinemic (12 +/- micU/ml), had normal insulin receptor binding (5.9 +/- 0.5%/1.6 X 10(9) cells), and were less hyperglycemic than the insulin-resistant patients (128 +/- 11 vs 181 +/- 12 mg/dl, P less than 0.05). After tolazamide administration, both the early phase of glucose-induced insulin secretion (56 +/- 52 vs 141 +/- 68 microU/ml . 10 min) and insulin binding (5.9 +/- 0.5 vs 7.0 +/- 0.5%/1.6 X 10(9) cells) increased in all three nonresistant patients, but there was no consistent improvement in fasting hyperglycemia (128 +/- 11 vs 130 +/- 24 mg/dl), intravenous glucose tolerance (Kivgtt 0.77 +/- 0.18 vs 0.89 +/- 0.29%/min), or facilitation of glucose disposal by insulin (Km 70 +/- 5 vs 64 +/- 5 microU/ml; Vmax 10.8 +/- 0.6 vs 10.1 +/- 0.2 mg/kg/min).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)