Acetohexamide
Chemical compound
Acetohexamide (trade name Dymelor) is a first-generation sulfonylurea medication used to treat diabetes mellitus type 2, particularly in people whose diabetes cannot be controlled by diet alone.
01Mechanism of action
Acetohexamide binds to an ATP-sensitive K+ (KATP) channel on the cell membrane of pancreatic beta cells. This inhibits the outflux of potassium, which causes the membrane potential to become more positive. This depolarization in turn opens voltage-gated calcium channels. The rise in intracellular calcium leads to increased fusion of insulin granulae with the cell membrane, and therefore increased secretion of insulin.
02Risks
Sulfonylureas, especially first-generation sulfonylureas such as Acetohexamide, can cause severe hypoglycemia and increase the risk of adverse cardiovascular events.
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Acetohexamide”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Acetohexamide.svg by Fvasconcellos, Public domain
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