Cotreatment with the α-glucosidase inhibitor miglitol and DPP-4 inhibitor sitagliptin improves glycemic control and reduces the expressions of CVD risk factors in type 2 diabetic Japanese patients.

Abstract Objective In this study, we examined whether inhibition of postprandial hyperglycemia by combination therapy with two drugs for reducing postprandial hyperglycemia, i.e., α-glucosidase inhibitor miglitol and dipeptidyl peptidase (DPP)-4 inhibitor sitagliptin, improves glycemic control and reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) development. Materials/Methods We enrolled 32 type 2 diabetic Japanese patients with hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels ranging from 6.9% to 10.5%, who had been treated for at least 2 months with 50 mg miglitol (t.i.d.) or 50 mg sitagliptin (q.d.). Following a monotherapy period with either miglitol (Group-M) or sitagliptin (Group-S) for 1 month, the patients were subjected to combination therapy with sitagliptin and miglitol for 3 months. Meal tolerance tests were performed at the end of the monotherapy and combination therapy. Results Combination therapy for 3 months after monotherapy reduced HbA1c (changes: Group-M: − 1.3% ± 0.7%, P  Conclusions Our results suggest that combination therapy with miglitol and sitagliptin improves glycemic control and reduces the circulating protein concentrations of IL-8, sE-selectin, and sVCAM-1 in type 2 diabetic Japanese patients.