Acarbose |
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Acarbose is an oral medication that is used to control blood glucose (sugar) levels in type II diabetes. It belongs to a class of drugs called alpha-glucosidase inhibitors which also includes miglitol (Glyset).
| Dosage |
Packing |
Price |
Add to basket |
| 50 mg |
30 tab |
USD 11.00 |
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| 50 mg |
120 tab |
USD 35.00 |
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| 100 mg |
30 tab |
USD 15.00 |
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| 100 mg |
120 tab |
USD 48.00 |
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Medications and Prescriptions
Generic name: acarbose
Product Brand Name: Glucobay (also known as Precose)
1. Description: Acarbose is an oral medication that is used to control blood sugar levels in type II (noninsulin-dependent) diabetes. It belongs to a class of drugs called alpha-glucosidase inhibitors which also includes miglitol (Glyset). Acarbose was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for use in 1995.
2. Acarbose is Prescribed for: It is believed that strict sugar control in diabetics decreases the risk of eye, kidney, and nerve damage. Alpha-glucosidase inhibitors are used to help lower blood sugar levels that are not controlled by diet and exercise. Acarbose can be used alone to treat type II diabetes or can be combined with sulfonylureas such as glyburide (Diabeta) or metformin (Glucophage) or with insulin. This medication is sometimes prescribed for other uses; ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information.
3. Drug Mechanism: Acarbose works by slowing the actions of alpha-amylase and alpha-glucosidase enzymes thereby slowing the appearance of sugar in the blood after a meal. Slowing food digestion helps keep blood glucose from rising very high after meals.
4. Dosage Form: The initial acarbose dose may start 25 mg three times daily and then increase after four to eight weeks to 50-100 mg three times daily. Acarbose should be taken at the first bite of each meal.
Smaller doses may be adequate for patients with severe kidney dysfunction or liver disease. Acarbose is not recommended if cirrhosis is present. Acarbose therapy is not advised in the presence of certain medical conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease or intestinal obstruction and chronic intestinal diseases that interfere with digestion or absorption such as Crohn's disease.
Acarbose doses should be adjusted based upon blood glucose levels taken one hour after a meal and blood HbA1c levels taken about three months after starting or changing the dose. (HbA1c is a chemical in the blood that is a good indicator of blood glucose control.)
5. Drug Interactions: Acarbose may interfere with digoxin absorption thereby decreasing digoxin blood levels and its effect. Therefore, the digoxin dose may need to be increased if acarbose is begun.
Since adding insulin or a sulfonylurea to acarbose therapy may lower blood glucose more than acarbose alone, the risk for developing hypoglycemia is greater when these drugs are combined. Caution should be used when combining these drugs.
If mild to moderate hypoglycemia occurs while taking acarbose in combination with another anti-diabetic agent, the hypoglycemia should be treated with oral glucose (dextrose) instead of sucrose (table sugar) because acarbose blocks the digestion of sucrose to glucose, and hypoglycemia will not be corrected rapidly with sucrose. Acarbose alone does not produce hypoglycemia.
6. Pregnancy: Acarbose is in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration pregnancy category B. This means that it is not expected to be harmful to an unborn baby. Do not take acarbose without first talking to your doctor if you are pregnant or could become pregnant during treatment.
7. Nursing Mothers: Acarbose is excreted in the milk of lactating animals, but no human studies have been conducted. Do not take acarbose without first talking to your doctor if you are breast-feeding a baby. Acarbose passes into breast milk and may affect a nursing infant.
8. Alcohol Considerations: Alcohol increases blood sugar; ask your doctor for information on how much is safe to drink.
9. Possible Side Effects: The most common side effects with acarbose therapy are abdominal pain, diarrhea and flatulence. There is a rare possibility that these gastrointestinal side effects may become severe and progress to paralytic ileus.
Other possible but rare side effects are an increase in liver enzymes, and decreases in hematocrit, calcium or vitamin B6 levels.
10. Storage: Acarbose should be stored at room temperature, 59-86°F (15-30°C) away from moisture and heat in he container it came in, tightly closed, and out of reach of children.
11. Package Size and Type: Tablets: 25, 50 and 100 mg.
Caution! Before starting to take this medicine, it is vital that you should consult your doctor! Do not use it on your own initiative, without medical advice.
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Drug category:Antidiabetic agents
 Acarbose
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