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Pharmaceutical Treatment Options For The Treatment Of Type 2 Diabetes Essay

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A myriad of pharmaceutical treatment options for the treatment of type 2 diabetes (T2DM) currently exist (Inzucchi et al., 2015; American Diabetes Association, 2016). Although metformin remains the first-line pharmacologic treatment, numerous options are available when metformin alone does not achieve glycemic targets. When making treatment decisions, the American Diabetes Association (ADA, 2016) recommends that selection of additional agents should take into account the advantages and disadvantages of specific medications. They also advise consideration of patient preference, cost, side effects, impact on body weight, and risk for hypoglycemia (ADA, 2016). The intent of this paper is to explore the recently published and highly relevant research findings on the impact of empagliflozin, a sodium glucose co-transporter-2 inhibitor (SGLT2), on cardiovascular outcomes and mortality (Zinman et al., 2015). Empagliflozin (EMPA), along with other SGLT2 drugs, effectively work to reduce glycemia by suppressing renal glucose reabsorption (Rosenstock, et al., 2015). The end result is reduced blood glucose, because of increased urinary glucose excretion. Rosenstock and colleagues (2015) conducted a randomized, control trial comparing the impact of long acting insulin versus long acting insulin plus EMPA. The 79-week trial was conducted from 2009 to 2012 and included 97 centers in seven countries, including the United States. In total, 494 participants were included. After

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