Diabetes ranks as the seventh-leading cause of death in the Unites States, according to the National Institutes of Health, or NIH. Approximately 8 percent of Americans are diabetic and many do not even know they have diabetes, says the NIH. Medications are an important component of diabetes treatment and help to minimize serious diabetes complications such as heart disease, stroke, blindness, nervous system problems and kidney failure, reports the American Diabetes Association, or ADA.
Insulin
Insulin is naturally produced by the body and is used to help manage diabetes if either the body does not make insulin or the body does not use insulin appropriately, says the ADA. Various types of insulin are available that work at different speeds, including rapid-acting insulin, regular or short-acting insulin, intermediate-acting insulin, and long-acting insulin, reports the ADA. Many people need two or more types of insulin to control their blood glucose, says the NIH.
Other Injectables
According to the ADA, newer injectable medications available to treat diabetes include pramlintide and exenatide. Pramlintide is a man-made form of a hormone called amylin that is normally made by the pancreas and helps to control blood glucose, reports the ADA. Exenatide is also a synthetic version of a natural hormone called exendin-4 which helps to lower blood sugar by increasing the amount of insulin made by the body, says the ADA.
Pills
There are various types of pills available to treat diabetes which include sulfonylureas, meglitinides, biguanides, thiazolidinediones, alpha-glucosidase inhibitors, and DPP-4 inhibitors, says the ADA. Examples of sulfonylureas include chlorpropamide, glipizide and glyburide. Available meglitinides include repaglinide and nateglinide. Metformin is an available biguanide. Thiazolidinediones include pioglitazone. Examples of alpha-glucosidase inhibitors are acarbos and meglitol. The DPP-4 inhibitor class includes sitagliptin and saxagliptin.
