Prevention of Type 2 Diabetes: Evidence and Strategies

Alpha-glucosidase Inhibitors

Alpha-glucosidase inhibitors are antidiabetic agents that slow oral carbohydrate intestinal absorption, subsequently improving postprandial hyperglycemia, which can eventually reduce glucose toxicity of pancreatic beta cells. In addition, they have been shown to improve insulin sensitivity in individuals with IGT [51] and have been found to exert a favorable protective effect in a prediabetic population [52]. In a multicenter placebo-controlled randomized trial, the Study to Prevent Non-Insulin Dependent Diabetes Mellitus (STOP-NIDDM), 1429 participants with IGT were randomly assigned to receive acarbose 100 mg 3 times a day or placebo for 3 years [53]. As expected, diabetes incidence was significantly decreased by 25% in the acarbose group (relative risk of 32.4% vs 41.5% in acarbose and placebo group, respectively), and acarbose significantly increased reversion to normal glucose tolerance ( P < 0.0001). Furthermore, the use of acarbose was associated with a statistically significant 49% decrease in the rate of any cardiovascular event, highlighting the cardiovascular protective effect of improving postprandial hyperglycemia with acarbose. This study had many limitations: a high percentage of participants discontinued treatment (31% in the acarbose group and 19% in the placebo group), most likely related to increased gastrointestinal adverse effects of acarbose. In addition, the diabetes prevention effect does not seem to be sustained: during a 3-month wash-out period where all patients received placebo, incidence of diabetes in the initial intervention group was higher than in the initial placebo group.

In a Japanese multicenter randomized double-blind trial, 1780 patients with IGT were randomly assigned to receive the alpha-glucosidase inhibitor voglibose or placebo [54]. An interim analysis at 48 weeks revealed a significantly lower risk of progression to diabetes in the voglibose group.

Combination Metformin and Acarbose

In a 6-year multicenter British study, the Early Diabetes Intervention Trial (EDIT), 631 participants with IFG were randomly assigned, in a factorial design, to double-blind treatment with acarbose or placebo and simultaneously to metformin or placebo [55]. At 3 years, there was a nonsignificant risk reduction of 8% and 37% in progression to 2 successive fasting plasma glucose values of 140 mg/dL or more in the acarbose and metformin groups, respectively, but a significantly lower 2-hour OGTT glucose in the acarbose group and significantly lower FBG in the metformin group. Interestingly, at 6 years of follow-up, there was no significant difference in relative risk of progression to diabetes with acarbose, metformin, or combination therapy [56]. However, unlike metformin or combination therapy, acarbose was associated with a significant relative risk reduction of diabetes (0.66, P = 0.046) in the subgroup of patients with IGT at baseline, suggesting a possible differential protective effect of certain agents in patients with IGT or IFG.

Nateglinide

Nateglinide is a short-acting insulin secretagogue that is mostly used in the treatment of postprandial hyperglycemia in diabetic patients. The protective effect of nateglinide in a prediabetic population was examined in the NAVIGATOR study (the NAteglinide and Valsartan in Impaired Glucose Tolerance Outcomes Research), a large prospective multinational, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Nateglinide (30–60 mg 3 times daily) and valsartan (80–160 mg daily) versus placebo were used in a 2×2 factorial design in 9306 participants with IGT and increased risk of cardiovascular events [57]. At 5 years, nateglinide did not reduce the cumulative incidence of diabetes or cardiovascular outcomes, when compared to placebo, whereas risk of hypoglycemia was significantly increased in the intervention group.