Is acarbose a good drug for diabetes?
Acarbose and related alpha glycosidase inhibitors are widely used to treat diabetes. Acarbose, miglitol and voglibose are often used in combination with other anti-diabetic medication to lower blood sugars. Current data on acarbose and related drugs indicate that they work well for mild diabetes but have no effect on morbidity or mortality in diabetic patients.
Moreover, these drugs do not decrease weight nor do they
affect lipids. They are also not cheap. With all these drugs, the major problem
is the adverse effects. Higher doses do not result in further lowering of blood
sugars but in fact cause more side effects. Personally I think these drugs are
a rip off and the same benefit can be obtained with metformin, exercise and a
change in lifestyle.
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