New therapeutic agents for glycemic control in diabetes mellitus

A recent report from International Diabetes Federation estimates that 366 million people have diabetes in 2011 and this will have risen to 552 million by 2030. That means one adult in 10 will have diabetes. The prevalence of diabetes among Korean adults aged 20 to 79 years in 2010 was estimated at 9.4% (3.3 million). Diabetes mellitus has thus become a social and economic burden in Korea. However, the percentage of patients to reach their target goal for glycemic control (hemoglobin A1c <7%) is only 40.3%. That indicates further effort for management of diabetic patients is needed. Current diabetic medication includes sulfonylurea, metformin, α-glucosidase inhibitor, thiazolidinedione and dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor as well as insulin. In this review article, we examine the clinical effects upcoming new diabetes medications and their differences from previous medications.