Oral Hypoglycemic Agents and the Mechanism of Diabetes Mellitus

Abstract

THE search for oral agents to lower the blood sugar has been in progress ever since hyperglycemia was found to characterize diabetes mellitus. The pathway leading to trial of the first such oral agent was tortuous: since the late 1870's guanidine had been known to produce muscle spasms. When it was discovered that guanidine levels in blood appear to rise after parathyroidectomy, guanidine was held responsible for parathyroprival tettany. In 1918, soon after hypoglycemia was described in parathyroidectomized dogs, Watanabe¹ began to investigate the effects of guanidine on blood sugar. It lowered the blood sugar, though, to be sure, not . . .