THURSDAY, May 19 (HealthDay News) — When someone with type 2 diabetes
needs a third medication to control blood sugar levels, the choice may
come down to which drug has the least undesirable side effects, because
the available medications all lower blood sugar in a similar manner.
That’s the conclusion of a new review of data that shows there were no
great differences in the ability of various classes of medication to lower
blood sugar among type 2 diabetics, when used as “third-line” treatment
(after a first and second drug don’t suffice).
However, the study also found that some medications could cause weight
gain, and some caused episodes of low blood sugar levels (hypoglycemia).
In any event, “type 2 diabetes is a progressive disease and most
patients will need the combination of two or three anti-hyperglycemic
agents to reach good glucose control in the long-term,” noted the study’s
lead author, Dr. Jorge Gross, a professor of medicine at the Hospital de
Clinicas de Porto Alegre, Brazil.
“The choice of the third agent should be individualized according to
the characteristics of the patients and the undesirable effects of the
medications, so you can’t elect one agent to be used in all patients
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