A client with type 2 diabetes is receiving glyburide (Micronase). The nurse explains that glyburide works by:

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Multiple Choice

A client with type 2 diabetes is receiving glyburide (Micronase). The nurse explains that glyburide works by:

Glyburide lowers blood glucose by stimulating the pancreas to release insulin. This sulfonylurea binds to receptors on beta cells, closes ATP‑sensitive potassium channels, and causes the cells to depolarize. The depolarization opens voltage-gated calcium channels, and the resulting calcium influx triggers the release of stored insulin into the bloodstream. Because this relies on functioning beta cells, glyburide is effective in type 2 diabetes only when some pancreatic insulin production remains; it won’t work if beta cells are no longer functional. It doesn’t act by accelerating the liver’s breakdown of glycogen, nor by directly increasing glucose transport into cells; those effects are not how glyburide lowers glucose. If there’s no pancreatic function, glyburide cannot reduce blood glucose.

Glyburide lowers blood glucose by stimulating the pancreas to release insulin. This sulfonylurea binds to receptors on beta cells, closes ATP‑sensitive potassium channels, and causes the cells to depolarize. The depolarization opens voltage-gated calcium channels, and the resulting calcium influx triggers the release of stored insulin into the bloodstream. Because this relies on functioning beta cells, glyburide is effective in type 2 diabetes only when some pancreatic insulin production remains; it won’t work if beta cells are no longer functional. It doesn’t act by accelerating the liver’s breakdown of glycogen, nor by directly increasing glucose transport into cells; those effects are not how glyburide lowers glucose. If there’s no pancreatic function, glyburide cannot reduce blood glucose.

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