Abstract
Introduction: There are different drug-based treatments (i.e., oral or injective) for patients with type 2 diabetes. Pioglitazone and sitagliptin, among oral agents, can affect blood glucose control and lipid profile.
Objectives: The purpose of the current investigation was the assessment of the effects of adding sitagliptin or pioglitazone (as the third drug) to the combined metformin-sulfonylurea treatment on glycemic control, inflammatory factors, and lipid profile.
Methods: This clinical trial was carried out on 125 patients with type 2 diabetes undergoing metformin-glibenclamide treatment. The patients were randomly divided into three groups, namely the sitagliptin group receiving 100 mg of sitagliptin for 3 months (n=45), pioglitazone group receiving 30 mg of pioglitazone for 3 months (n=40), and control group (n=40). After the interventions, the anthropometric indices, glycated hemoglobin A1c level, lipid profile, fibrinogen, and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) were compared among the study groups.
Results: The sitagliptin group demonstrated significantly lower levels of hs-CRP (0.53±0.26 mg/L) and fibrinogen (314.08±48.09 mg/dL), compared to those reported for the pioglitazone and control groups. In contrast, significantly lower triglyceride levels (115.02±32.92 mg/dL) and significantly higher high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (51.57±11.14 mg/dL) were observed in the pioglitazone group in comparison to those reported for the sitagliptin and control groups.
Conclusion: The results of the present study suggest that sitagliptin reduces the levels of fibrinogen and hs-CRP. Nevertheless, pioglitazone has a more significant effect on the improvement of the lipid profile, compared to sitagliptin and combined metformin-sulfonylurea treatments.