New
Diabetes Drug Shows Promise!
Works
differently than anything else that is available
A
drug that blocks a particular enzyme that affects blood-sugar
control has shown early promise in treating type 2 diabetes,
according to study findings released Friday.
Type
2 diabetes, which usually strikes in adulthood, is marked by
poorly controlled blood sugar, or glucose, and arises from the
body's inability to properly use the hormone insulin, the body's
key blood-sugar regulator. The study of 93 adults in the early
stages of type 2 diabetes found that over 4 weeks, the oral drug
lowered patients' levels of blood glucose.
The
new drug acts by inhibiting an enzyme known as DPP IV, which
breaks down other hormones that help control blood glucose.
"This
study provides the first evidence that...DPP IV inhibition is
feasible for the treatment of type 2 diabetes in humans," Dr.
Bo Ahren of Lund University in Malmo, Sweden, and colleagues
report in the May issue of Diabetes Care.
In
their study, two or three daily doses of a DPP IV inhibitor before
meals lowered patients' glucose levels overall, according to the
report. All of the patients were in relatively early stages of
type 2 diabetes and had been treated with exercise and diet
regimens alone. Oral drugs and insulin injections are often also
needed to manage the disease.
The
researchers conclude that inhibition of DPP IV is a "feasible
approach" to treating the early stages of type 2 diabetes.
They add that further research will be needed to look at the
long-term effects of such treatment, as well as how it works
against more advanced diabetes and in combination with other
diabetes drugs. SOURCE: Diabetes Care 2002;25:869-875.
