Intensive integrated therapy of type 2 diabetes: implications for long-term prognosis.

The macro- and microvascular burden of type 2 diabetes is well established. A number of recent single risk factor intervention trials targeting hyperglycemia, dyslipidemia, hypertension, procoagulation, microalbumuria, and existing cardiovascular disorders have, however, shown major beneficial effects on long-term outcome. The results from these studies are anticipated to change the future management of type 2 diabetes, and most of the updated national guidelines for the treatment of type 2 diabetes recommend a multipronged approach driven by ambitious treatment targets. The outcome of this intensive integrated therapy has, however, only been investigated in a few studies of patients with type 2 diabetes. One of these trials, the Steno-2 Study, showed that intensive intervention for an average of 7.8 years cuts cardiovascular events as well as nephropathy, retinopathy, and autonomic neuropathy by about half when compared with a conventional multifactorial treatment. The challenge for now is to ensure that the trial experiences are widely adopted in daily clinical practice.