Diabetes mellitus (DM) is one of the most prevalent diseases of modern
society. There are several therapeutic options available, but they also have many
shortcomings. With the limitations and pitfalls of the existing therapies of diabetes,
there is always a need for better drugs. This review is an attempt to give comprehensive
details about the merits and demerits of a class of drugs called SGLT-2 inhibitors.
SGLT-2 inhibitors act by increasing glucose excretion through urine and do not have
any effect on insulin secretion, therefore, the risk of hypoglycemia is less. SGLT-2
inhibitors that are in clinical use are: dapagliflozin, empagliflozin, canagliflozin, and
ertugliflozin. Considering the benefits offered by SGLT-2 inhibitors over existing
antidiabetics, they deserve an important place in the therapy of T2DM and are found to
be useful in T1DM, as studies have suggested previously. Beneficial effects of these
drugs extend beyond controlling hyperglycemia, e.g., reduction in body weight,
reduction in blood pressure and a proven and appreciable reduction in cardiovascular
adverse events, maintenance of arterial elasticity and decrease in visceral adipose tissue
deposition. The demonstration of such beneficial effects in various clinical studies has
established them as one of the important components of antidiabetic therapy. However,
in the light of recent safety concerns raised on such molecules would help prescribers
to take an informed decision about risks versus benefits while prescribing these agents
to their patients.
Keywords: Canagliflozin, Dapagliflozin, Diabetes mellitus, Empagliflozin,
Hyperglycemia, Mycotic genital infections, Osmotic diuresis, SGLT-2 inhibitors.
