The University Group Diabetes Program

Abstract

The basic conclusion of University Group Diabetes Program on tolbutamide is: the findings of this study indicate that combination of diet and tolbutamide therapy is no more effective than diet alone in prolonging life. Moreover, findings suggest that tolbutamide and diet may be less effective than diet alone or than diet and insulin at least in so far as cardiovascular mortality is concerned. 1 With no evidence of efficacy and a definite possibility of toxicity investigators concluded that safety of patients still receiving tolbutamide therapy required its discontinuance and that factual basis for this decision needed to be communicated to biomedical scientific community. This prudent decision and moderately worded conclusion has been received by some critics with a hostility which has no discernible scientific basis. The following analysis is largely confined to Dr. Schor's analysis (see page 1671). In general, independent repetition