The drug Precose (acarbose) is effective in reducing "postprandial hyperglycemia" -- the spike in blood sugar that occur after meals -- but it does not delay the progression of early type 2 diabetes, according to Indiana University researchers.

Prior to their study, researchers had postulated that the sugar overload that is is a hallmark of early type 2 diabetes may lead to progressive beta-cell dysfunction, and that treating this hyperglycemia could potentially slow disease progression.

So the researchers randomized 219 patients with early type 2 diabetes to receive acarbose or placebo for 5 years or until they had two consecutive quarterly fasting glucose measurements of 140 mg/dL or more.

Reporting in the journal Diabetes Care, the researchers said 29 percent of those treated with Precose ultimately progressed to the quarterly fasting glucose measurements of 140 -- only slightly fewer than the 34 percent who progressed in the control group.

There was also no evidence that acarbose improved insulin resistance or beta-cell function, the researchers reported. However, in patients with an initial fasting plasma glucose level of <126 mg/dL, acarbose therapy did seem to prevent progression to higher levels.