Controlling blood sugar in children and teenagers with diabetes type two is best achieved with a metformin plus rosiglitazone combo, compared to just metformin or metformin plus lifestyle changes, researchers reported in NEJM (New England Journal of Medicine). Blood-sugar control is also known as glycemic control, or blood glucose control.

There are very limited reliable data to guide treatment for young patients with diabetes type 2, even though rates in this age group have been rising over the last ten years. Over the last couple of decades, the prevalence of obesity among children in the USA has risen considerably.

In this study, the researchers compared the efficacy of three treatment regimes – they focused on durable glycemic control in pediatric patients who had recently been diagnosed with diabetes type 2.

699 patients aged from 10 to 17 years were initially treated with 1000 mg of metformin alone twice daily, until they achieved glycated hemoglobin levels of