Diabetes medication

This article is about treatment of diabetes mellitus. For treatment of diabetes insipidus, see Diabetes insipidus.

Drugs used in diabetes treat types of diabetes mellitus by decreasing glucose levels in the blood. With the exception of insulin, most GLP-1 receptor agonists (liraglutide, exenatide, and others), and pramlintide, all diabetes medications are administered orally and are thus called oral hypoglycemic agents or oral antihyperglycemic agents. There are different classes of hypoglycemic drugs, and selection of the appropriate agent depends on the nature of diabetes, age, and situation of the person, as well as other patient factors.

Type 1 diabetes is an endocrine disorder characterized by hyperglycemia due to autoimmune destruction of insulin-secreting pancreatic beta cells. Insulin is a hormone needed by cells to take in glucose from the blood.[1] Insufficient levels of insulin due to Type 1 diabetes can lead to chronic hyperglycemia and eventual multiorgan damage, resulting in renal, neurologic, cardiovascular, and other serious complications.[2] The treatment for Type 1 diabetes involves regular insulin injections.

Type 2 diabetes, the most common type of diabetes, occurs when cells exhibit insulin resistance and become unable to properly utilize insulin.[3] Insulin resistance requires the pancreas to compensate by increasing insulin production.[4] Once compensation fails, chronic hyperglycemia can manifest and type 2 diabetes develops.[5] Treatments include dietary changes emphasizing low glycemic index food, physical activity to improve insulin sensitivity, and medications that (1) increase the amount of insulin secreted by the pancreas, (2) increase the sensitivity of target organs to insulin, (3) decrease the rate at which glucose is absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract, and (4) increase the loss of glucose through urination.[4]

Several drug classes are indicated for use in type 2 diabetes and are often used in combination. Therapeutic combinations may include several insulin isoforms or varying classes of oral antihyperglycemic agents. As of 2020, 23 unique antihyperglycemic drug combinations were approved by the FDA.[6] The first triple combination of oral anti-diabetics was approved in 2019, consisting of metformin, saxagliptin, and dapagliflozin. Another triple combination approval for metformin, linagliptin, and empagliflozin followed in 2020.[6]

  1. ^ "What Is Diabetes?". NIDDK. April 2023. Retrieved August 21, 2025.
  2. ^ Klandorf, Hillar, PhD, and Sharon W. Stark. “Diabetes Mellitus.” Salem Press Encyclopedia of Health, 2024. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=cookie,ip,shib,uid&db=ers&AN=86194054&site=eds-live&scope=site.
  3. ^ "Type 2 Diabetes". NIDDK. May 2017. Retrieved August 21, 2025.
  4. ^ a b Freeman AM, Acevedo LA, Pennings N (August 17, 2023). "Insulin Resistance". StatPearls Publishing. PMID 29939616. Retrieved August 21, 2025.
  5. ^ Type 2 Diabetes: What You Need to Know. GovInfo. (2012, July). https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GOVPUB-HE20-PURL-gpo50043
  6. ^ a b Dahlén AD, Dashi G, Maslov I, Attwood MM, Jonsson J, Trukhan V, et al. (January 2022). "Trends in Antidiabetic Drug Discovery: FDA Approved Drugs, New Drugs in Clinical Trials and Global Sales". Front Pharmacol. 12 807548: 4119. doi:10.3389/fphar.2021.807548. PMC 8807560. PMID 35126141.
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