Effect of acarbose therapy once or twice a day on glycemic control in japanese patients with type 2 diabetes

Abstract

A possible reason for poor adherence to α-glucosidase inhibitor (αGI) therapy is the three times daily dosing regimen. Up to now, no investigations on aGI therapy starting with a once or twice daily dosing in Japanese type 2 diabetic patients have been reported. We assessed the improvement of blood glucose by administration of acarbose once or twice daily. At first, the patients were directed to take 50 mg of acarbose once daily just before meal. After one to three months, drug taking was increased to 50 mg twice daily just before meal. HbA1c and glycoalbumin (GA) levels were measured. Ten out of 14 patients completed 3 months of treatment. After 3 months, HbA1c decreased significantly compared with before treatment and after 1 month of treatment After 3 months, GA decreased significantly compared with before treatment. Achievement of good glycemic control while maintaining compliance is considered possible by employing the acarbose regimen used in this study.