Acarbose Helps Type 2 Diabetics Reduce Blood Sugar

Acarbose was found to be effective at reducing blood sugar in people with type 2 diabetes in research conducted at the Centre de Recherch/Hotel-Dieu de Montreal in Quebec.

The researchers used seven universities and 354 people with non-insulin dependent diabetes for the study, which was published in The Annals of Internal Medicine Dec., 1994.

Seventy-seven patients were being treated with diet alone, 83 with diet and metformin, 103 with diet and sulfonylurea, and 91 with diet and insulin. The patients were randomly assigned to receive either a placebo or acarbose in addition to their regimen.

At the three-month follow up, the patients who were receiving the drug had much lower HbA1c results compared to the patients who were receiving a placebo. Though acarbose was found to lower blood sugar levels, it had no effect on serum C-peptide or serum lipid levels.

Acarbose is a carbohydrate absorb-tion inhibitor and works by limiting the absorbtion of carbohydrates after eating. It is very effective at lowering post-meal blood sugars, said Dr. Steven Edelman, who also claimed acarbose is a “very safe” drug that only causes minor gastro-intestinal side effects.