Therapeutic effect of glibenclamide and sertraline combination on serum level of lipids and glucose in type 2 diabetic rats

Sertraline-lowering effects on blood sugar have been observed in many studies. Nowadays, glibenclamide is widely used in the treatment of diabetes. The aim of this study was to evaluate the therapeutic effect of the combination of sertraline and glibenclamide on serum glucose and lipids in type 2 diabetic rats.
In this study, 32 male rats were divided into four groups: diabetic, diabetic treated with glibenclamide, sertraline, combination of glibenclamide and sertraline. The drug dose of glibenclamide was 0.258 mg/kg and sertraline 30 mg/kg and the combined therapeutic dose was 50% of the previous doses. Diabetes was induced by a single dose of 60 mg/kg streptozotocin. Treatment was continued until day 16 after diabetes induction. Serum glucose levels were measured on days 4, 9 and 16.  
The present study showed that combination of glibenclamide and sertraline with 50% of treatment dose significantly decreased serum glucose on days 9 and 16. Sertraline alone significantly decreased serum glucose compared to the control group on day 16 (P <0.05). A significant increase in HDL and HDL to LDL ratio was observed in the two groups (P <0.05), but these changes were not observed in the glibenclamide group alone.
Combined treatment with glibenclamide and sertraline improved control of serum glucose and increased HDL and could lead to significant changes in serum glucose and lipid concentrations in diabetic rats.