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New treatment strategy may help diabetics control their condition

Category: Diabetes

Diabetics may soon be able to reduce the amount of insulin testing they have to do with the help of a new medication, according to a new study from University of North Carolina researchers.

Type 2 diabetes can be extremely difficult to control and requires frequent testing to make sure that blood sugar and insulin levels are in line. If they reach unhealthy levels for long periods of time, it can increase the risk of heart disease, stroke and kidney failure.

For the study, researchers examined the effectiveness of combining common insulin treatment with the new drug Exenatide. Researchers said that both treatments offer different advantages, and combining the two may lead to significant improvements in patients' conditions.

"This study may be the best result ever for patients whose diabetes is inadequately controlled on a combination of pills and insulin," said John Buse, who led the study. "Until now, it was inconceivable that you could get such patients under excellent control with weight loss and no significant problems with hypoglycemia."