ADVANCE in context: The benefits, risks and feasibility of providing intensive glycaemic control based on gliclazide modified release.

In the last 3 decades, four large multicentre, randomized clinical trials of patients with type 2 diabetes (UKPDS, ADVANCE, ACCORD and VADT) have studied different approaches to achieving near normal glycaemic targets. Each was designed against a background of international and national guidelines recommending glycaemic targets of 6.5% or less to prevent diabetic complications. Collectively, these clinical trials provide the most robust evidence of the potential vascular benefits and risks of more versus less glucose control and provide critical insights into how therapies are used. In this review, the glucose-lowering approach used by the ADVANCE trial is considered and compared with those used by the other trials.