Authors: G Crepaldi M Carruba M Comaschi S Del Prato G Frajese G Paolisso
Publish Date: 2014/03/27
Volume: 30, Issue: 7, Pages: 610-614
Abstract
Dipeptidyl peptidase 4 DPP4 inhibitors are a new pharmacological class of drugs for treating Type 2 diabetes They improve the capacity of the organism to control glycemia by increasing the levels of active incretins Their mechanism of action is thus radically different from those of other antidiabetic drugs currently available DDP4 inhibitors use a physiological mechanism to control hyperglycemia by stimulating the secretion of insulin from βcells decreasing the secretion of glucagon from pancreatic αcells and at the same time reducing the production of glucose by the liver DDP4 inhibitors have shown significant efficacy in maintaining reduced levels of glycosylated hemoglobin for up to 1 year In vitro and animal studies have shown that they can inhibit apoptosis of βcells and favor their regeneration and differentiation The oral DPP4 inhibitors vildagliptin sitagliptin and saxagliptin are efficacious both alone and in association with other oral antidiabetic agents and may be administered in a single daily dose Lastly they have substantial advantages with respect to other antidiabetic drugs since they involve a low risk of hypoglycemia and do not affect body weight
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