Research
Hormonal
Pharmacological treatment of prediabetes with anti-hyperglycemic drugs (e.g., metformin, TZDs, insulin) fails to provide long-term protection against diabetes because it does not correct underlying insulin resistance or beta-cell dysfunction, and benefits disappear upon discontinuation.
Standard diabetes drugs (like metformin) do not cure prediabetes. They mask high blood sugar while you take them, but once you stop, your risk of developing diabetes is the same as if you never took the drug. Focus on fixing the root cause (insulin resistance) rather than just lowering the number.
GoodRefutesHIGH confidence
once the drugs were stopped, the development of diabetes was the same as that in the placebo group... treatment of the dysglycemia of prediabetes with anti-hyperglycemia drugs would not seem very helpful.
Why this rating
Based on long-term follow-up of major trials (DPPOS, DREAM, ACT NOW, ORIGIN).
Source
Should Prediabetes be Treated Pharmacologically?
Mayer B. Davidson · Diabetes Therapy · 2023
DOI 10.1007/s13300-023-01449-7
narrative_reviewCited 9×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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