The effects of gliclazide on platelet function in patients with diabetes mellitus.

Eighteen diabetic patients with abnormal platelet function were treated for 1 month with gliclazide (80 to 160 mg/day). Platelet aggregation, circulating beta-thromboglobulin levels and platelet malondialdehyde concentrations were significantly reduced after 30 (but not 15) days of treatment. Although fasting and post-prandial glycaemia significantly improved in these patients, similar changes in platelet function were noted in 5 other patients in whom glycaemia did not change. Gliclazide therapy, therefore, brought about an improvement in platelet function and a reduction activation in the thromboxane metabolic pathway, possibly by a direct on the platelets.