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Glimepiride (amaryl)

Publication Date: 10/30/2005

  • Brand name in US: Amaryl
  • Class: sulfonylurea
  • For: Type 2 (non-insulin-dependent) diabetes
  • Route of Administration: oral; once-daily dosing schedule
  • Action: generally similar to other sulfonylureas; may have lesser side effects, and more "insulin-sparing effects" due to action at different cellular receptors than other sulfonylureas.
  • Manufacturer: Aventis
  • Approval Status: Approved by US FDA, December 1995
  • Warning: The unusual double-egg shape, colors, and the size of Amaryl pills are almost identical to the shape, colors, and size of a standard brand of thyroid hormone, Levoxyl (manufactured by Daniels Pharmaceuticals). If the patient is on both Amaryl and Levoxyl, or if the patient is in a setting such as a hospital or nursing home where both pills are available in containers located nearby to each other, EXTREME CAUTION must be taken that the medications are not mistaken for each other!

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