Effets du glimepiride (Amarylle) chez le patient diabétique de type 2: Résultats de l'étude belge RECORD en médecine générale.

Sulfonylureas still have a key place in the treatment of type 2 diabetes, especially those of the last generation. This article describes the results of a post-marketing study (RECORD, Routine Evaluation Conducted On Registered Drugs project) focusing on glimepiride (Amarylle). This study investigated the efficacy, safety and tolerance of glimepiride in primary care. It was performed in Belgium and concerned 1.012 patients with type 2 diabetes followed for 6 months by 204 general practitioners. Almost two thirds of recruited patients already received oral glucose-lowering agents whereas one third were naive patients. This open study showed a progressive decrease of fasting blood glucose and glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) levels with glimepiride (titrated from 1 to 6 mg/day, as needed, with a mean daily dose of 2,6 mg), together with a simultaneous slight reduction in body weight and without any increase of the hypoglycaemic risk. Primary care physicians considered both the efficacy and tolerance of glimepiride as good or very good in more than 90% of cases. The value of such a study is to provide valuable information about glimepiride use in real life, a condition that may differ from strict follow-up imposed in randomised controlled clinical trials.