Oral Treatment of Diabetes Mellitus

Abstract

A group of 115 diabetic patients were treated with oral antidiabetic agents from Jan 1, 1956, to June 1, 1963. Of these, 61 could be successfully maintained with a single sulfonylurea drug (tolbutamide, chlorpropamide, etc) for an average duration of 52 months. During this period, most patients required either gradual increase in dosage or potency of drug due to progressiveness of the diabetes. After failure of such therapy in the remaining 54 patients, they were treated with a combination of a sulfonylurea drug and phenformin. Of these, 47 patients could be successfully reregulated, and 42 persistently so for an average of 29 additional months, a total average duration of 59 months on oral treatment. Therapy was favorably affected by the recognition of the refractory nature of hyperglycemia and to the development of pharmacological techniques for its correction.