Classification of Oral hypoglycemic Drugs
Oral hypoglycemic drugs are used to lower blood sugar levels for people with type 2 diabetes. They are classified into several types:
Sulphonylureas: These stimulate the pancreas to produce more insulin. Examples include first-generation drugs like tolbutamide and chlorpropamide, and second-generation drugs like glibenglamide, glipizide, gliclazide, and glimepiride.
Biguanides: The most common example is metformin, which reduces the amount of glucose the liver produces and makes the body’s cells more sensitive to insulin.
Meglitinides: These stimulate the pancreas to produce more insulin. Examples include repaglinide and nateglinide.
Thiazolidinediones: Also known as glitazones, these make the body’s cells more sensitive to insulin. Examples include rosiglitazone and pioglitazone.
Alpha-glucosidase inhibitors: These slow down the digestion of carbohydrates in the small intestine, thereby slowing down glucose absorption. Examples include acarbose and miglitol.
Dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitors: These block the action of DPP-4, an enzyme that destroys incretins. Incretins are hormones that help the body produce more insulin when needed and reduce the amount of glucose being produced by the liver when it’s not needed. An example is sitagliptin.
Glucagon-like peptide (GLP-1) analogues: These mimic the functions of natural incretin hormones in the body that help lower post-meal blood sugar levels. An example is exenatide.
Comments
Post a Comment