Differences between Mitiglinide/Voglibose Fixed-dose Combination and Glimepiride in Modifying Low-density Lipoprotein Heterogeneity in Japanese Type-2 Diabetic Patients: A Pilot Study.

PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of mitiglinide/voglibose fixed-dose combination and glimepiride on low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-heterogeneity in type-2 diabetic patients with unstable glycemic control after treatment with dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitors. METHODS This was an open-label pilot study in which type-2 diabetic patients were randomly assigned to the mitiglinide/voglibose (fixed-dose combination of mitiglinide 10 mg and voglibose 0.2 mg, n=14) or glimepiride (0.5 mg, n=16). RESULTS In the glimepiride group, serum LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) and small-dense (sd) LDL levels decreased significantly (-8.5% and -9.0%), while sd-LDL/LDL-C and an indicator of LDL-particle size, LDL-C/apoB, did not change significantly. In the mitiglinide/voglibose group, serum LDL-C levels did not change, while sd-LDL levels and sd-LDL/LDL-C decreased significantly (-8.6% and -7.9%) and LDL-C/apoB increased significantly (5.8%). Fasting blood glucose levels tended to be reduced to a greater extent in the glimepiride group than in the mitiglinide/voglibose group (-13.9% vs. -8.4%, p=0.08), while the rate of reduction of HbA1c levels tended to be higher in the mitiglinide/voglibose group than in the glimepiride group (-6.9% vs. -3.4%, p=0.09), suggesting differences in fluctuating blood glucose levels between the 2 groups. CONCLUSION There were differences in the effects of mitiglinide/voglibose fixed-dose combination and glimepiride in addition to DPP-4 inhibitors on LDL-metabolism, and this may be related to fluctuations in blood glucose levels after treatment with these agents.