Current paradigms in the treatment of type 2 diabetes

Type 2 diabetes is an expanding epidemic worldwide, with recent data indicating at least 415 million adults with diabetes worldwide with an expected increase to 642 million by 2040 mainly in developing countries.

Multiple worldwide efforts are being undertaken to prevent diabetes by mitigating its risk factors– mainly obesity, reduced physical activity, increased consumption of salt, sugar and processed foods and reduced consumption of fruits and vegetables–yet these efforts are met with limited success. New approaches and medications to better improve the care of patients with established diabetes and reduce its resultant complications are being continuously developed, and these will be the focus of our current article.

Multiple studies have established the fact that early tight glycemic control reduces the risk of diabetes complications – microvascular, as well as macro vascular if initiated early in disease onset. Furthermore, addressing multiple cardiovascular risk factors, including lipids, blood pressure and anti-platelet therapy, has been shown to be crucial in the prevention of macro vascular complications.