Gliquidone is a sulfonylurea drug that can help in treating Type 2 diabetes mellitus. It causes depolarization, further leading to the activation of voltage-dependent calcium channels and calcium ion influx. This drug is ATP-dependent potassium (KATP) channel blocker and can eventually increase the release of insulin.
Approximately 95% of diabetic patients have type 2 diabetes. This condition is considered a global health problem of steadily increasing proportions. This disorder has prompted ongoing research into novel therapies, which lead to the improvement of its management as a growing challenge to health care systems. Sulfonylureas constitute a long-established group of drugs that have a proven track record in the treatment of Type 2 diabetes mellitus. Over time, newer agents such as the second-generation benzenesulfonylureas, one of which is gliquidone, are being used due to their greater overall metabolic profile and safety.
This drug has extrapancreatic effects that may help increase the number of insulin receptors found in the peripheral tissues. After an oral administration with a short elimination half-life (around 1.5 hours), the drug is rapidly and completely absorbed.
This drug should be used with caution in patients with hepatic insufficiency and impaired renal function. Plasma glucose levels are monitored several hours after a glucose-induced insulin secretion, and the effects on plasma lipids are then fully described. This drug has been associated with less hypoglycemia than glibenclamide, as shown by some clinical studies.
