Issue 108 Item 2 Aspirin Improves Glucose Tolerance In Type 2 Diabetes

High-dose aspirin in type 2 diabetes improves glucose metabolism. High-doses of aspirin appear to improve glucose metabolism in patients with type 2 diabetes through the inhibition of the serine kinase IKKß.

Previous studies have implicated IKKß, which is involved in tissue inflammation, in the pathogenesis of insulin resistance. Studies have also shown that high doses of salicylates inhibit IKKß, which could potentially improve insulin resistance and glucose tolerance in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Investigators from the Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut, and Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, tested this hypothesis in nine type 2 diabetic subjects who received seven grams of aspirin per day for 14 days.

Mixed meal-tolerance tests and hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamps were performed to assess glucose turnover before and after aspirin administration.

Results showed a 25 percent reduction in fasting plasma glucose, a 15 percent reduction in total cholesterol and C-reactive protein, a 50 percent reduction in triglycerides and a 30 percent reduction in insulin clearance after high-dose aspirin treatment. There was no change in body weight during treatment.

Also, a 20 percent reduction in basal rates of hepatic glucose production and a 20 percent improvement in insulin-stimulated peripheral glucose uptake were observed after aspirin treatment.

These results support the hypothesis that IKKß is a potential target for treatment of type 2 diabetes, the investigators conclude. J Clin Invest 2002; 109(10): 1321-1326