Acarbose is a drug used to treat type 2 diabetes mellitus. It is sold in Europe under the brand name Glucobay® (Bayer AG), in North America as Precose® (Bayer AG), and in Canada as Prandase® (Bayer AG). It is an inhibitor of alpha glucosidase, an enteric enzyme that releases glucose from larger carbohydrates. The main side-effect is loose stool or diarrhea, which limits its use. It is a moderately effective antidiabetic drug.
Acarbose therapy increased the probability that patients would remain free of cardiovascular events (hazard ratio of 0.51), with 32 in the placebo group and 15 in the acarbose group having at least one cardiovascular event.
Acarbose treatment lowered the risk of developing hypertension, with 78 patients (11 percent) developing hypertension in the acarbose group, compared with 115 (17 percent) in the placebo group, a relative risk reduction of 34 percent and an absolute risk reduction of 5.3 percent.
Acarbose was associated with a significant reduction in cardiovascular events in a group of participants with impaired glucose tolerance.
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