The importance of postprandial glucose to treatments and outcomes in patients with type 2 diabetes.

A primary goal in the management of diabetes is to prevent its long-term complications through the attainment of tight glycemic control, a complex and incompletely understood metabolic process that involves the interaction of the pancreas, insulin-responsive peripheral tissues, and the liver in regulating fasting blood glucose (FBG) and postprandial glucose (PPG) levels. Whereas much of the clinical management of type 2 diabetes has focused on FBG by measurement of blood glucose levels and glycated hemoglobin levels, mounting evidence has formed strong associations between PPG, the temporally immediate physiological management of a glucose load, and diabetes progression, management, and complications. Application of the research may enable health care systems and providers to more closely mimic a normal glycemic response in individuals with type 2 diabetes, leading to improved clinical outcomes and cost control.