Abstract
In recent years, the number of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus caused by insulin
resistance has continued to increase in Japan. Insulin resistance is considered to
be closely related to the risk of cardiovascular diseases and atherosclerotic diseases,
represented by arteriosclerosis obliterans (ASO). Therefore, improvement of insulin
resistance is one of the important strategies in the treatment of type 2 diabetes
mellitus. At present, α-glucosidase inhibitors, incretin-related drugs, and thiazolidinediones
are among the most important oral hypoglycemic drugs used to improve insulin resistance.
In this study, the effect of beraprost sodium, a prostaglandin I2 derivative, in the
treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus was investigated. In type 2 diabetic patients
with ASO who were under treatment with pioglitazone, additional treatment with beraprost
sodium exerted a significant synergistic effect in reducing the serum HbA1c levels
as compared to treatment with pioglitazone alone. This result indicates that concomitant
administration of pioglitazone and beraprost sodium may be useful in the treatment
of diabetes mellitus.
Key words
beraprost sodium - pioglitazone - HbA1c - type 2 diabetes