Overview
DESCRIPTION Glipizide Tablets USP are an oral blood-glucose-lowering drug of the sulfonylurea class. The Chemical Abstracts name of glipizide is 1-cyclohexyl-3-[[ p -[2-(5-methylpyrazine-carboxamido)ethyl]phenyl]sulfonyl]urea. The molecular formula is C 21 H 27 N 5 O 4 S; the molecular weight is 445.55; the structural formula is shown below: Glipizide is a whitish, odorless powder with a pKa of 5.
Mechanism of Action
CLINICAL PHARMACOLOGY Mechanism of Action The primary mode of action of glipizide in experimental animals appears to be the stimulation of insulin secretion from the beta cells of pancreatic islet tissue and is thus dependent on functioning beta cells in the pancreatic islets. In humans, glipizide appears to lower the blood glucose acutely by stimulating the release of insulin from the pancreas, an effect dependent upon functioning beta cells in the pancreatic islets. The mechanism by which glipizide lowers blood glucose during long-term administration has not been clearly established. In man, stimulation of insulin secretion by glipizide in response to a meal is undoubtedly of major importance.
Indications
- INDICATIONS AND USAGE Glipizide Tablets USP are indicated as an adjunct to diet and exercise to improve glycemic control in adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus.
Common Doses
- 5 mg
- 2.5 mg
- 15 mg
- 40 mg
Dosage
DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION There is no fixed dosage regimen for the management of diabetes mellitus with glipizide or any other hypoglycemic agent. In addition to the usual monitoring of urinary glucose, the patient’s blood glucose must also be monitored periodically to determine the minimum effective dose for the patient; to detect primary failure, i.e., inadequate lowering of blood glucose at the maximum recommended dose of medication; and to detect secondary failure, i.e., loss of an adequate blood-glucose-lowering response after an initial period of effectiveness.
Contraindications
- CONTRAINDICATIONS Glipizide is contraindicated in patients with: 1. Known hypersensitivity to the drug. 2. Type 1 diabetes mellitus, diabetic ketoacidosis, with or without coma. This condition should be treated with insulin.
Side Effects
- ADVERSE REACTIONS In U.S. and foreign controlled studies, the frequency of serious adverse reactions reported was very low. Of 702 patients, 11.8% reported adverse reactions and in only 1.5% was glipizide discontinued. Hypoglycemia See PRECAUTIONS and OVERDOSAGE sections. Gastrointestinal Gastrointestinal disturbances are the most common reactions. Gastrointestinal complaints were reported with the following approximate incidence: nausea and diarrhea, one in seventy; constipation and gastralgia, one in one hundred.
Interactions
- Drug Interactions The hypoglycemic action of sulfonylureas may be potentiated by certain drugs including non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents, some azoles, and other drugs that are highly protein bound, salicylates, sulfonamides, chloramphenicol, probenecid, coumarins, monoamine oxidase inhibitors, quinolones and beta-adrenergic blocking agents. When such drugs are administered to a patient receiving glipizide, the patient should be observed closely for hypoglycemia. When such drugs are withdrawn from a patient receiving glipizide, the patient should be observed closely for loss of control.