Effect of Tang No.1 granule (1) in treating patients with impaired glucose tolerance.
OBJECTIVE
To observe the therapeutic effect of Tang No.1 granule (1, T1G) in treating patients with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT).


METHODS
One hundred and forty patients with IGT and with Pi-Wei dampness-heat syndrome type were assigned randomly according to their visiting sequence into two equal groups. The control group received only general knowledge about IGT, but to the treated group, based on current knowledge available, T1G was given additionally for 6 months. Changes in related laboratory indexes, including fasting plasma glucose and insulin (FPG and FINS), plasma glucose 2 h after meal (2hPG), glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), serum triglyceride (TG), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL) and insulin resistance index (HOMA-IR), were observed.


RESULTS
The levels of FPG, 2hPG, HbA1c, FINS, TG and HOMA-IR were significantly decreased after treatment in the treated group, showing a significant difference compared to the control group (P<0.01). Among them, HbA1c decreased from 7.08+or-1.41% to 6.56+or-1.29% in the treated group, while in the control group, it decreased from 7.02+or-1.37% to 6.93+or-1.31%. The level of LDL was also reduced in the treated group after treatment (P<0.05). In the treated group, 13 out of 68 patients (19.12%) had their glucose tolerance reversed to normal, while in the control group, only 2/64 (3.1%) got it reverse; a comparison between the two groups in terms of reversion rate showed a significant difference (P<0.01). No severe adverse reaction was found in the therapeutic course.


CONCLUSIONS
T1G has good clinical effect as a treatment intervention for IGT, as it could improve glycometabolism, significantly depress the levels of post-prandial blood sugar and blood lipids, alleviate clinical symptoms of patients, and effectively cut-off and reverse the yielding and development of diabetes mellitus.