458 patients with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes that could not be controlled with diet and had hyperglycemic symptoms or fasting plasma glucose levels greater than 15 mmol/L during the initial 3 months of diet therapy ( primary diet failure group ) and 1620 patients in whom disease was controlled by diet therapy and who had fasting plasma glucose levels of 6 to 15 mmol/L and no hyperglycemic symptoms while receiving diet therapy alone .
