Abstract

Colesevelam hydrochloride: a bile acid sequestrant for glycemic control and treatment of dyslipidemia in Type 2 diabetes mellitus

Author(s): Prasanth N Surampudi, Prathima Nagireddy and Vivian A Fonseca

The complications of Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) include increased risk of macrovascular diseases such as coronary artery disease, stroke or peripheral vascular disease, and microvascular diseases such as retinopathy, neuropathy and nephropathy. The risk of macrovascular and microvascular diseases increases with the presence of dyslipidemia and hyperglycemia, respectively. Hence, treatment of T2DM must be aimed at treating hyperglycemia to prevent microvascular disease and dyslipidemia to prevent macrovascular complications. Recent clinical studies indicate that colesevelam hydrochloride, a bile acid sequestrant, appears to be promising as an add-on therapy for T2DM patients in reducing the hyperglycemia and dyslipidemia. The objective of the paper is to review the efficacy and safety of colesevelam hydrochloride in reducing both low-density lipid cholesterol and glycosylated hemoglobin A1c levels in T2DM patients when combined with metformin, sulfonylurea or insulin.