Avances en el tratamiento de la diabetes mellitus tipo 2 y la enfermedad cardiovascular

Type 2 diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular disease are major public health problems in the world today. Obesity also is becoming an epidemic globally and with it there is a greater prevalence of the metabolic syndrome. Improved metabolic control of type 2 diabetes should decrease the complications of the disease. While lifestyle change is crucial in improving outcomes of type 2 diabetes and patients with cardiometabolic risk, pharmacological advances can also be helpful in improving control. Two new advances in drug therapy are presented here. The first is the development of incretin analogues to treat type 2 diabetic patients. The second is the development of endocannabinoid receptor blockers to treat overweight and cardiometabolic risk. Both of these advances are likely to improve metabolic control in patients who are very vulnerable to cardiovascular disease.