Sodium glucose co-transporter inhibitors – A new class of old drugs

Abstract

Sodium glucose co-transporter (SGLT) inhibitors are a new class of drugs which are used in the pharmacotherapy of Type-II diabetes, which happens to be a major risk factor for developing both micro as well as macro-vascular complications. These drugs inhibit the glucose reabsorption by inhibiting SGLT, which exhibits a novel and promising mechanism of action by promoting the urinary glucose excretion hence providing a basis of therapeutic intervention. Results of SGLT-II inhibitors are very encouraging as there is a significant elevation of GLP-1 level, which forms the basis of relevance in treatment of diabetes. It targets the HbA1C and keeps a check on its levels. It also exerts other positive benefits such as weight loss, reduction in blood glucose levels, reduction in blood pressure and improvement in insulin resistance and β-cell dysfunction: All contributing to effective glycemic control. SGLT inhibition will develop as effective modality as it has the capability of inhibiting reabsorption of greater percentage of filtered glucose load.