Long-term Effect of Acarbose on Glycaemic Control in Non-insulin-dependent Diabetes Mellitus: A Placebo-controlled Double-blind Study

The efficacy and safety of acarbose therapy (100 mg tds for 24 weeks) was investigated in a placebo-controlled double-blind study in patients with non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus who could not achieve satisfactory glycaemic control by diet alone. In the acarbose group, the 2 h postprandial blood glucose and haemoglobin A₁ levels decreased significantly from 14.0 mmol l^?1 to 11.3 mmol l^?1 and from 11.1 % to 9.7 %, respectively. In the placebo group, the 2 h postprandial blood glucose (14.4 mmol l^?1 to 14.2 mmol l^?1) and the hemoglobin A₁ level (10.3% to 9.9%) showed no significant changes. A 75 g oral glucose tolerance test was performed before and after the study, the difference not being significant in either the acarbose group or the placebo group. The incidence of side-effects (mainly gastrointestinal symptoms such as flatulence and abdominal distension) was high at 78.9 % in the acarbose group and 61.1 % in the placebo group. However, there was no significant difference between the groups, and side-effects in the acarbose group tapered during the trial, suggesting that some at least were not related to the drug. From these findings, it was concluded that acarbose is an effective new treatment for diet treated non-insulin-dependent diabetic patients.