Review of glyburide after one year on the market.

After one year on the American market, glyburide, a second-generation sulfonylurea, seems well accepted by physicians. If the hyperglycemia of patients with type II diabetes mellitus is not corrected by diet and exercise, glyburide can be used as adjunctive therapy. The drug is comparable in efficacy to the first-generation sulfonylurea chlorpropamide, but it has fewer reported side effects. Additionally, glyburide does not appear to interact with other medications and is well absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract. Although the drug had been reported to produce hypoglycemia, increased clinical experience--along with use of judicious dosages in appropriate patients--has decreased the incidence of hypoglycemia. Although still in the investigational stage, combination insulin/glyburide therapy may also benefit subgroups of type II diabetic patients. Glyburide is a useful and rational addition to therapy in properly selected patients with type II diabetes mellitus.