We performed a 3-year observation study of type 2 diabetic patients treated with glibenclamide or glimepiride and found that the annual progression of the maximum carotid intima-media thickness was significantly attenuated in the subjects treated with glimepiride (n = 20) as compared with those treated with glibenclamide (n = 20) (-0.044 +/- 0.171 mm/year vs. 0.077 +/- 0.203 mm/year, p = 0.0474). (C) 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.