Thanks to a surprising result from the high-profile Action to Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes (ACCORD) study. That study placed patients with type 2 diabetes on a regimen of tight glucose control (a glycosylated hemoglobin target of 6%, which is the normal level), long thought to be ideal in diabetes management. Researchers compared this group with type 2 diabetes patients on a less stringent program, with target levels of 7% to 7.9%. The study was halted after about 3.5 years, when researchers observed a 22% higher mortality rate in the tight-control group, which had actual glycosylated hemoglobin levels of 6.4%. The ACCORD researchers noted that in the intensive treatment group, nonfatal myocardial infarctions had started to decline slightly but significantly when the study was stopped. (For more information, see Diabetes Under Control, November 2008.)