Cardiovascular effects of insulin sensitizers in diabetes.

Diabetic patients have a greatly increased relative risk of cardiovascular disease compared with patients without diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is caused by a combination of insulin resistance and impaired pancreatic secretion. Thiazolidinediones are a relatively new class of compounds for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus that lower glucose levels by decreasing insulin resistance and glucose production by the liver. The cardiovascular benefits of thiazolidinediones include an increase in high-density lipoprotein, reduction in blood pressure, improvement in endothelial function, attenuation of markers of inflammation and reduction in albuminuria. Ongoing clinical trials are underway investigating the role of thiazolidinediones in the prevention of type 2 diabetes mellitus.