In the UK, diabetes mellitus affects around 3 million people, of whom over 90% 
have type 2 diabetes. Aims of treatment include minimising long-term 
complications (e.g. cardiovascular disease, blindness, chronic kidney disease, 
premature mortality) and avoiding unwanted effects of treatment (e.g. severe 
hypoglycaemia, weight gain). Management of diabetes includes patient support and 
education; addressing symptoms; lifestyle modification; targeting associated 
risk factors for cardiovascular disease; and surveillance for, and management 
of, complications including treatment-related hypoglycaemia. Dapagliflozin 
(Forxiga) belongs to a new class of oral glucose-lowering drugs that inhibit 
renal glucose reabsorption and promote glycosuria. It is licensed in the UK in 
adults with type 2 diabetes as monotherapy when diet and exercise alone do not 
provide adequate glycaemic control and who are unable to tolerate metformin; or, 
as add-on therapy, with other glucose-lowering agents including insulin, when 
these, with diet and exercise, do not provide adequate glycaemic control. The 
company's advertising materials claim that dapagliflozin provides a "novel 
method of controlling excess glucose" with "secondary benefit of weight loss". 
Here, we review the evidence for the use of dapagliflozin in the management of 
type 2 diabetes mellitus.