[Combination therapy with sulfonylurea plus insulin in "secondary failure" of type 2 diabetes]

In the treatment of 'secondary failure of sulfonylurea therapy' in type-2-diabetes, the combination of insulin plus sulfonylureas is well established. The aim of this kind of therapy is to take advantage of the physiological way of endogenous insulin, stimulated by sulfonylureas. Furthermore, insulin deficiency in 'secondary failure' should be treated very early by small amounts of exogenous insulin to avoid hyperinsulinemia as a risk factor of cardiovascular disease. Long-term results in 16 type-2 diabetics show the combination of insulin plus sulfonylureas being advantageous as compared to only insulin treatment in both daily insulin dosage and serum insulin levels.