Recent reports from Germany have stimulated renewed interest in an action of certain sulfonamide compounds on the blood sugar in diabetes mellitus. A class of sulfonamide compounds termed sulfonylureas have been shown to have a hypoglycemic effect and to eliminate the need for exogenous insulin in many adults with diabetes mellitus. This effect is believed to be due to an action of sulfonylureas as inhibitors of an enzyme responsible for the destruction of insulin (insulinase). Sulfonylureas have been most effective in adults with mild diabetes acquired late in life. Diabetes in childhood and adolescence, or in those in whom it has persisted for many years, have shown little or no response to the administration of sulfonylureas. The usefulness of these compounds in the treatment of patients with diabetes mellitus has not been determined and must be ascertained by careful clinical trials.
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