In the present study the end of treatment HbA1c levelsachieved in both groups were above the goal of < 7%established by current clinical practice recommendations [11], which were released after the study wascompleted. However, the evidence from the UKPDS datathat for every 1% decrease in HbA1c there is a 35%decrease in risk of microvascular complications [12],suggests that the percentage change in HbA1c rather thanits absolute level may be of greater clinical signi®cance.