Loading...
Recently published trials of drug therapies for type 2 diabetes generally have involved costly new agents. In this new randomized trial, researchers in Italy compared cardiovascular (CV) outcomes with two older agents. About 3000 metformin-treated type 2 diabetic patients (mean age, 62; mean duration of diabetes, 8 years) received add-on therapy with either pioglitazone or a sulfonylurea (glimepiride or gliclazide). At baseline, mean glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) was 7.7%, and only 11% of patients had known CV disease. Patients with serum creatinine levels >1.5 mg/dL were excluded.
During average follow-up of 5 years, the composite primary outcome (all-cause death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke, or urgent coronary revascu…