Ai-Qing Yu1, Jiong Le2, Wen-Tao Huang2, Bin Li1, Hui-Xin Liang2, Qun Wang1, Yu-Ting Liu1, Charlotte-Aimee Young3, Mei-Ying Zhang4, Shu-Lan Qin5. 1. Department of Endocrinology, Third Affiliated Hospital, Nanchang University, Nanchang, China. 2. Department of Endocrinology, The Fifth Affiliated Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China. 3. Department of Ophthalmology, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA. 4. Department of Endocrinology, Second Affiliated Hospital, Nanchang University, Nanchang, China. 5. Department of Endocrinology, The Fifth Affiliated Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China. 1094821826@qq.com.
Abstract
INTRODUCTION: This systematic review aims to verify the efficacy of acarbose monotherapy in treating obese or overweight patients without diabetes. METHODS: In the study, we conducted a systematic search of the Pub-Med, EMBASE, Cochrane and Science Citation Index Expanded databases in search of clinical trials on acarbose treatment, overweight and obesity. The crucial inclusion criteria were as follows: (1) patients were diagnosed as overweight or obese (BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2); (2) randomized controlled trials (RCTs); (3) patients had undergone acarbose monotherapy or placebo control; (4) acarbose treatment had been carried out for at least 3 months. Exclusion criteria were as follows: (1) patients diagnosed with diabetes mellitus (DM); (2) patients had received a weight loss medication or surgery in the past 3 months; (3) papers not published in English; (4) repeated research results of the same experiment or repeated published documents. RESULTS: A total of 7 studies involving 132 in the acarbose group and 137 in placebo group, 269 subjects in total, were included in this meta-analysis. From the selected seven papers, we extracted the following clinical parameters: systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), body weight (BW), body mass index (BMI), triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), low density lipoprotein (LDL), high density cholesterol (HDL) and fasting plasma glucose (FPG). An important finding of our research is that TG was the only significantly reduced parameter in the acarbose group. Weight mean difference (WMD) was - 0.21 (95% CI - 0.33, - 0.09) mmol/l between acarbose (P = 0.0006) and placebo patients. Reduction of BMI was also greater for acarbose than placebo subjects, although the discrepancy was not statistically significant (P = 0.56). Moreover, no hypoglycemia occurred in either the acarbose group or placebo group. A few subjects experienced gastrointestinal reactions, but these were mild and improved over time. Acarbose has no obvious influence on other metabolic indexes. CONCLUSION: Acarbose monotherapy is beneficial in reducing TG levels in obese or overweight patients and will not result in hypoglycemia during medication. The side effects of acarbose are mild.
INTRODUCTION: This systematic review aims to verify the efficacy of acarbose monotherapy in treating obese or overweight patients without diabetes. METHODS: In the study, we conducted a systematic search of the Pub-Med, EMBASE, Cochrane and Science Citation Index Expanded databases in search of clinical trials on acarbose treatment, overweight and obesity. The crucial inclusion criteria were as follows: (1) patients were diagnosed as overweight or obese (BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2); (2) randomized controlled trials (RCTs); (3) patients had undergone acarbose monotherapy or placebo control; (4) acarbose treatment had been carried out for at least 3 months. Exclusion criteria were as follows: (1) patients diagnosed with diabetes mellitus (DM); (2) patients had received a weight loss medication or surgery in the past 3 months; (3) papers not published in English; (4) repeated research results of the same experiment or repeated published documents. RESULTS: A total of 7 studies involving 132 in the acarbose group and 137 in placebo group, 269 subjects in total, were included in this meta-analysis. From the selected seven papers, we extracted the following clinical parameters: systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), body weight (BW), body mass index (BMI), triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), low density lipoprotein (LDL), high density cholesterol (HDL) and fasting plasma glucose (FPG). An important finding of our research is that TG was the only significantly reduced parameter in the acarbose group. Weight mean difference (WMD) was - 0.21 (95% CI - 0.33, - 0.09) mmol/l between acarbose (P = 0.0006) and placebo patients. Reduction of BMI was also greater for acarbose than placebo subjects, although the discrepancy was not statistically significant (P = 0.56). Moreover, no hypoglycemia occurred in either the acarbose group or placebo group. A few subjects experienced gastrointestinal reactions, but these were mild and improved over time. Acarbose has no obvious influence on other metabolic indexes. CONCLUSION: Acarbose monotherapy is beneficial in reducing TG levels in obese or overweight patients and will not result in hypoglycemia during medication. The side effects of acarbose are mild.
Authors: Rena R Wing; Paula Bolin; Frederick L Brancati; George A Bray; Jeanne M Clark; Mace Coday; Richard S Crow; Jeffrey M Curtis; Caitlin M Egan; Mark A Espeland; Mary Evans; John P Foreyt; Siran Ghazarian; Edward W Gregg; Barbara Harrison; Helen P Hazuda; James O Hill; Edward S Horton; Van S Hubbard; John M Jakicic; Robert W Jeffery; Karen C Johnson; Steven E Kahn; Abbas E Kitabchi; William C Knowler; Cora E Lewis; Barbara J Maschak-Carey; Maria G Montez; Anne Murillo; David M Nathan; Jennifer Patricio; Anne Peters; Xavier Pi-Sunyer; Henry Pownall; David Reboussin; Judith G Regensteiner; Amy D Rickman; Donna H Ryan; Monika Safford; Thomas A Wadden; Lynne E Wagenknecht; Delia S West; David F Williamson; Susan Z Yanovski Journal: N Engl J Med Date: 2013-06-24 Impact factor: 91.245