/A

Background: Glimepiride (HOE490, Amaryl (R)) is a new, third generation sulfonylurea, which binds to a different protein of the sulfonylurea receptor than other sulfonylureas. Although there have been many studies proving the efficacy of glimepiride on Caucasian diabetic patients, only a few studies are available on Asian diabetic patients. We performed an open, randomized, comparative multicenter clinical trial to assess the efficacy and safety of glimepiride in Korean type 2 diabetic patients. Method: We recruited 262 type 2 cliabetic patients at 12 different university hospitals whose blood glucose was not controlled effectively with diet alone. Patients were randomized to 1~2mg glimepiride or 40~80mg gliclazide depending on the fasting blood glucose level. Doses were increased stepwise, up to 8mg for glimepiride (once-daily) and 320mg for gliclazide (>80 mg as dividedose) respectively, until metabolic control (fasting blood glucose < 7.9 mmol/L) or maximum dose was achieved. The quality of rnetabolic control was assessed by fasting blood glucose and HbA 1c as primary variables. Insulin, C-peptide and weight were monitored as secondary variables. Safety was assessed by obtaining patient history and laboratory values of relevant variables. Results: Of the 262 patients randomized to treatment, 160(61%) patients completed the 18-week study. The rate of successful blood glucose control (3.9