Abstract
Background: Diabetic patients suffer from various comorbidities like cardiovascular diseases
(CVDs), cancer, obesity, cognitive impairment, gout, leishmaniasis, etc.
Objective: We aimed to review the pathological links between diabetes and its comorbidities and discuss
the justification for using antidiabetic drugs in diabetes and associated comorbidities.
Methods: Diabetic patients accompanied by comorbidities had to undergo a multidrug regimen apart
from their common antidiabetic drugs, which affects their quality of life. There have been reports that
some antidiabetic drugs ameliorate the comorbidities associated with diabetes. For instance, metformin
is implicated in CVDs, cancer, as well as in cognitive impairment like Alzheimer's disease (AD);
glyburide, a sulfonylurea, is found to be effective against leishmaniasis; and voglibose, an α-
glucosidase inhibitor, is found to have suitable binding property against SARS-CoV-2 infection in diabetic
patients. Targeting the comorbidities of diabetes with antidiabetic drugs may reduce the load of
multidrug therapy in diabetic patients.
Results: The effectiveness of antidiabetic drugs against some diabetic comorbidities between the two
pathophysiological conditions, i.e., diabetes and its comorbidities, may be due to certain bidirectional
links like inflammation, oxidative stress, disruption in the metabolic milieu and obesity. There are
published reports of the repurposing of antidiabetic drugs for specific diseases, however, compiled repurposed
reports of antidiabetic drugs for a wide range of diseases are scarce.
Conclusion: In this review, we attempt to justify the use of antidiabetic drugs in diabetes and associated
comorbidities.
Keywords:
Diabetes, comorbidities, cardiovascular diseases, Alzheimer's disease, metformin, type 2 diabetes.
Graphical Abstract
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