A recent study looked at whether statin use helps prevent heart issues in older people, with and without diabetes. In participants with diabetes, statins did significantly reduce the incidence of atherosclerotic CVD by 24% and all-cause mortality by 16% in those age 75–84 years. However, no benefit was seen in people with type 2 diabetes […]
Metformin has been used for decades as a first-line drug for treating type 2 diabetes. It lowers blood glucose levels by inhibiting glucose production in the liver, and also improves glucose uptake and use by muscle tissue. Yet until now, exactly how the drug works to increase glucose uptake in muscle tissue has been unknown. […]
New research supports earlier findings that the weight loss drug Belviq (lorcaserin) may play a role in helping delay or manage the progression of type 2 diabetes. In the study, Belviq performed better than a placebo in helping people with prediabetes and diabetes lower their A1C, effectively helping those with prediabetes avoid full-blown diabetes. Read […]
A new study has found that the GLP-1 diabetes drug semaglutide, combined with diet and exercise, can help obese patients lose significant amounts of weight. The GLP-1 class of drugs helps weight loss by suppressing appetite and delaying the movement of food into the small intestine. Semaglutide proved more effective than the older drug liraglutide […]
Taking aspirin is often recommended for its heart benefits, but do the benefits outweigh the risk for all people with diabetes? A recent study found that for people who do not already have heart disease, the risk of serious bleeding associated with aspirin use may outweigh the cardiovascular benefits. Read more
For patients with type 2 diabetes who need large doses of insulin, adding an SGLT2 inhibitor to insulin therapy can mean much less insulin is needed according to new research. Patients with daily insulin doses between 101 and 200 units experienced an insulin dose reduction of 17 units/day with the addition of canagliflozin (brand name […]
SGLT-2 inhibitor drugs (brand names include Invokana and Jardience) have many benefits, but have been associated with diabetes ketoacidosis (DKA), a serious kidney problem, in people with type 2. If you are taking an SGLT-2 inhibitor, it’s important to know the signs of DKA and how to protect yourself. Read more
Side effects of diabetes drugs like nausea and vomiting make them difficult to tolerate for many people, and may even cause some to stop taking their medications or take them at reduced levels. New research has found that modifying a key ingredient in GLP-1 type diabetes drugs produces a compound that was effective for hyperglycemia […]
New research suggests that adding an SGLT-2 inhibitor drug, dapagliflozin, to insulin therapy is helpful to patients with type 1 diabetes who are not able to maintain ideal blood glucose ranges with insulin alone. Because the drug can cause a slight increase in the kidney problem DKA, patients and their doctors should work closely together […]
When combined, SGLT2 Inhibitor and GLP-1 RAs drugs show multiple benefits in treatment of type 2 diabetes. According to studies, the drug combination can target most of the issues that contribute to glucose intolerance, aiding in blood sugar control, weight management, blood pressure reduction, among others. Read more
Sotagliflozin (brand name Zynquista), will be reviewed by the FDA as a possible adjunct treatment, along with insulin, for type 1 diabetes. If approved, it will be the first oral antidiabetes medication used in combination with insulin in patients diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. Read more
Many recent clinical trials of new drugs for Alzheimer’s disease have ending in failure, and now some scientists are reconsidering whether we’ve been looking at the wrong things in our attempts to understand and treat the disease. Some researchers are now looking at the relationship between diabetes and Alzheimer’s, and how insulin may be the […]
Researchers have conducted a study to examine whether it is possible to create a less invasive alternative to bariatric surgery that would be equally effective in reversing type 2 diabetes, and offer the same benefits as surgery. The treatment would be in the form of an oral agent that would temporarily coat the intestine to […]
Whatever your political views, it’s important to understand the implications of the new information issued by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) describing how the Trump administration plans to drop the prices for prescription drugs for all Americans. The first part of this plan will be implemented right away, while the second part […]
Four new drugs now in development could change the way diabetes is treated. Novo Nordisk’s oral GLP-1 Semaglutide could offer an easier-to-take option and help delay the need for direct insulin treatment. Opko’s Oxyntomodulin (OPK-88003) is a leader in a new class of dual GLP-1 and glucagon receptor agonist drugs. Oramed just started a Phase 2 […]
In the last two years, the FDA has approved four drugs in the SGLT-2 inhibitors class: canagliflozin (brand name Invokana, Jansssen), dapagliflozin (brand name Farxiga, AstraZeneca), empagliflozin (brand name Jardiance, Boehringer Ingelheim), and ertugliflozin (brand name Steglatro, Merck/Pfizer). What is important for doctors to know about these new drugs, and how they should be prescribed? […]
Changing from a once-a-day dose to a once-a-week dose of a GLP-1 medication can sometimes be confusing. It’s important to get the timing right when you stop the daily dose and start the weekly dose. And it doesn’t help that the pens for a daily medication like Victoza look very similar to the pens for […]
Diabetes activists, including both physicians and patients, joined together in Washington, DC this past weekend to protest the high cost of insulin in the U.S. The protest was held on April 8 and organized by the Right Care Alliance, an activist group that states their mission is to hold “health care institutions accountable to communities […]
Many patients with diabetes struggle with weight management, and many drugs used to treat diabetes can further contribute to weight gain. Researchers have found that the SGLT-2 inhibitors, a newer class of drugs, are very effective when combined with diet and exercise in helping patients lose weight. Researchers have found that the amount of weight […]
SGLT-2 inhibitors are the newest diabetes drug class on the market, and to date research on their long-term safety has been lacking. The American Heart Association has published the results of a major meta analysis which reviewed all the available trials and studies. The researchers found that use of SGLT-2 inhibitors led to a 20% […]
