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Exploring new pharmacological options in the treatment of diabetes mellitus

Abstract:

Diabetes mellitus (DM) represents one of the greatest epidemics of our era, and this epidemiologic behavior has been projected to continue during several more decades. This prospect becomes alarming when considering that in general, only a third of the diabetic population achieves their metabolic control goals consistently. One of the main determinants of this failure may be the lack of adherence to pharmacologic treatments which may in turn be linked to frustrations concerning the efficacy and tolerability of the options currently available. Thus, the introduction of new alternatives for the treatment of DM is a priority study object in basic and applied biomedical research. Enriching the antidiabetic pharmacologic armamentarium is urgent in order to offer improved clinical results for this patient population. In this regard, innovative proposals have been put forward recently such as SGLT2 inhibitors, GLP-1 agonists, and new insulin formulations. Furthermore, miscellaneous drugs with significant activity on glucose homeostasis have been highlighted and may represent the window for new treatments in the future such as ranolazine and phosphate-sequestering agents. This review presents a summary of the current body of preclinical and clinical evidence on new proposals for antidiabetic pharmacologic treatment.