• Type 2 diabetes (non-insulin dependent diabetes).

Vipidia tablets are used for people with type 2 diabetes whose blood sugar is not sufficiently controlled by other antidiabetic medicines. It can be added to treatment with metformin, a sulphonylurea (for example gliclazide) or another type of antidiabetic medicine known as a thiazolidinedione (for example pioglitazone). It can also be added to treatment with insulin.

How does it work?

Vipidia tablets contain the active ingredient alogliptin, which is a type of medicine called a dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP-4) inhibitor. It is used to treat people with type 2 diabetes.

GLP-1 and GIP have four main actions that help to control blood glucose.

Firstly, they stimulate the pancreas to produce insulin in response to increasing levels of glucose in the blood. (Insulin is the main hormone responsible for controlling sugar levels in the blood. It causes cells in the body to remove sugar from the blood.)

GLP-1 also reduces the production of glucagon. (Glucagon is a hormone that normally increases glucose production by the liver.)

GLP-1 and GIP also reduce the rate at which food passes from the stomach into the intestines, which slows down the absorption of glucose from the gut into the bloodstream. Finally, they act on the brain to cause a feeling of fullness that reduces further food intake.

GLP-1 and GIP are normally broken down by an enzyme in the body called dipeptidyl peptidase 4. Alogliptin works by binding to this enzyme and preventing it from breaking down the GLP-1 and GIP. This increases the levels of these hormones in the body and so increases their effect on controlling blood sugar.