[Combination therapy of oral antidiabetic drugs with insulin]

The treatment of type II diabetes should not only concentrate on blood glucose levels but also should take symptoms like insulin resistance, hyperinsulinemia, low HDL-cholesterol, high VLDL, and systemic hypertension into consideration. These symptoms are well described by the metabolic syndrome and are known to be risk factors of macroangiopathy. In obese type II diabetic patients weight loss by caloric restriction is the most essential therapeutic step. Retarding intestinal carbohydrate uptake glucosidase-inhibitors are able to lower postprandial blood glucose levels without stimulating insulin secretion. The biguanide metformin is suitable to diminish peripheral insulin resistance, gluconeogenesis, and intestinal glucose absorption on cellular mechanisms others than betacytotropic effects. In non obese type II diabetic patients sulfonylureas are advantageous because of meal related stimulation of endogenous insulin which runs the physiological way with first pass through the liver. Therefore, sulfonylurea treatment should be continued when secondary failure indicates the need for exogenous insulin. In accordance with the course of type II diabetes in secondary failure insulin should be added to sulfonylureas in as small amounts as possible to ameliorate poor metabolic control. Thus iatrogenic hyperinsulinemia and resulting insulin resistance can be largely avoided. If there is any long term benefit when different oral antidiabetic agents are administered together with insulin has to be evaluated in further clinical studies.