Effects of sitagliptin or mitiglinide as an add-on to acarbose on daily blood glucose fluctuations measured by 72 h subcutaneous continuous glucose monitoring in Japanese patients with type 2 diabetes: a prospective randomized study.

OBJECTIVE: Postprandial hyperglycemia and blood glucose fluctuations increase the risk of macroangiopathy in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). However, few studies have examined the effects of oral hypoglycemic drugs on blood glucose fluctuations in daily life.

METHODS: Twenty-nine T2DM patients treated with acarbose were randomized to receive either sitagliptin (14 patients) or mitiglinide (15 patients) together with acarbose for 4 weeks. Patients were then switched to a combination of 10 mg mitiglinide and 0.2 mg voglibose for 4 weeks. All patients wore a continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) device for 5 - 7 days in week 3 of each treatment period.

RESULTS: The percentage of blood glucose levels in the hyperglycemic range, blood glucose indices derived from 24-h CGM profiles and the glycemic parameters (HbA1c, glycated albumin and fasting plasma glucose) were significantly improved by adding sitagliptin or mitiglinide to ongoing acarbose therapy. These parameters also tended to improve in the mitiglinide/voglibose combination period.

CONCLUSION: Daily blood glucose fluctuations were significantly improved by adding sitagliptin or mitiglinide to acarbose, and improved after switching to the mitiglinide/voglibose combination. Larger controlled studies are needed to verify the effects of adding sitagliptin or mitiglinide to acarbose on glucose fluctuations.