Antidiabetics
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Antidiabetics
Antidiabetics (pronunciation: an-ti-die-uh-bet-iks) are a class of medicines used to treat diabetes mellitus. The term is derived from the Greek words 'anti' meaning against and 'diabetes' which refers to the disease characterized by excessive urination.
Types of Antidiabetics
There are several types of antidiabetics, each working in a different way to control blood glucose levels in individuals with diabetes. These include:
- Insulin: This is a hormone produced by the pancreas. Synthetic insulin is used to supplement the body's natural insulin in people with diabetes.
- Sulfonylureas: These stimulate the pancreas to produce more insulin.
- Biguanides: The most common biguanide is metformin. It works by reducing the amount of glucose the liver produces and increasing the muscles' glucose uptake.
- Thiazolidinediones: These make the body's cells more sensitive to insulin.
- DPP-4 inhibitors: These block the action of an enzyme called DPP-4, which destroys the hormone incretin. Incretins help the body produce more insulin only when it is needed and reduce the amount of glucose being produced by the liver when it's not needed.
- SGLT2 inhibitors: These cause the kidneys to remove sugar from the body through the urine.
Related Terms
- Diabetes mellitus: A group of metabolic diseases characterized by high blood sugar levels over a prolonged period.
- Hyperglycemia: A condition characterized by an excessive amount of glucose in the blood, commonly associated with diabetes.
- Hypoglycemia: A condition characterized by an abnormally low level of glucose in the blood.
- Insulin resistance: A condition in which cells fail to respond normally to the hormone insulin.
- Pancreas: An organ of the digestive system that produces insulin and other important enzymes and hormones that help break down foods.
External links
- Medical encyclopedia article on Antidiabetics
- Wikipedia's article - Antidiabetics
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