ABSTRACT
The global incidence of Type-2 diabetes is on the rise and the public health and resource implications of the disease will be very enormous. The therapeutic armamentarium has been very much static up to the last decade of the last century when more several agents were developed and marketed. New oral agents followed the footsteps of the sulphonylureas and biguanides, and agents like the alpha-glucosidase inhibitors, meglitinides, thiazolidinediones and incretin-based therapeutic agents have added a new dimension to the management of the disease and more options for the increasing number of patients. Other novel agents are still in development. Furthermore, advances in scientific research and clinical practice and patient's care have shed the light on the importance of the holistic approach for management of these patients, and the need to address the devastating complications and the best way of achieving this. This paper is the first part of a series of reviews that is aimed at surfing the current developments in pharmacotherapy of Type-2 diabetes