Closing the gap between clinical research and clinical practice: can outcome studies with thiazolidinediones improve our understanding of type 2 diabetes?

摘要

Recent clinical research has provided a wealth of information to support optimal management strategies in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). In particular, outcome studies appropriately have had an increasingly important impact on clinical decision-making. Additional, new data are required, however, to close the current gaps in clinical knowledge and improve patient outcomes in T2DM. These outcome studies are particularly important in assessing the long-term benefit of newer agents for which data are available for short-term glycaemic control, effects on lipids and some data on non-traditional cardiovascular risk markers, but outcome data for harder end points relevant to the natural history of T2DM, particularly beta-cell function, are lacking. Outcome studies such as ADOPT and DREAM are investigating the impact of thiazolidinediones (TZDs) on beta-cell function and disease progression in T2DM and impaired glucose tolerance, respectively, the results of which are eagerly anticipated. The primary focus of this article is on TZD outcome studies evaluating beta-cell function and disease progression.