Talking Health: Drug cuts diabetes risk 'by 80 per cent'

A new research has shown that a drug that reduces blood sugar and promotes weight loss can cut the chances of at-risk patients developing type-2 diabetes by 80 per cent.

An international trial found treatment with liraglutide, which interacts with brain regions that control appetite and energy intake, had a dramatic effect on diabetes risk in obese and "pre-diabetes" patients on the way to becoming chronically diabetic.

The drug, which increases the amount of appetite-supressing hormones produced by the gut, was tested on overweight people with ‘prediabetes,’ also known as ‘borderline diabetes,’ and is characterised by slightly increased blood sugar levels, a condition which often leads to type 2 diabetes when untreated.

Study participants were randomly given either liraglutide or a placebo drug injected under the skin once a day for three years. They were also placed on a reduced-kilojoule diet and advised to take more exercise.

Compared with the placebo group, patients receiving the genuine treatment were 80 per cent less likely to go on to develop type-2 diabetes.

"On the basis of our findings, liraglutide ... can provide us with a new therapeutic approach for patients with obesity and pre-diabetes to substantially reduce their risk of developing type-2 diabetes and its related complications," trial leader professor John Wilding said.

Findings from the scale study, which recruited 2254 adults with pre-diabetes in 27 countries worldwide, were published in The Lancet medical journal.

Associated Press