Archive for the ‘Diabetes Medication’ Category

Diabetes Drug Linked to Lower Breast Cancer Risk

June 28, 2012 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Diabetes Medication, Diabetes Research and News 

Metformin (brand names: Fortamet, Glucophage, Glucophage XR, Glumetza), a widely prescribed drug for diabetes 2, may reduce the risk of breast cancer in some women, recently study said.

According to the research published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Metformin use in postmenopausal women with diabetes was associated with lower incidence of invasive breast cancer.

During the 12 years of follow-up, 3,273 cases of breast cancer were diagnosed. The researchers compared breast cancer risk in diabetic women on different diabetes medicines to breast cancer risk in non-diabetic women.

• Diabetic women treated with other medicines for diabetes had a slightly higher than average risk of breast cancer than women without diabetes
• Diabetic women treated with metformin had a 25% lower likelihood of developing breast cancer compared to women without diabetes

Other studies have suggested that diabetes drug Metformin may help lower the risk of prostate, pancreatic, liver and oral cancer, and a reducing incidence of a variety of cancers.

Metformin Side Effects
Metformin may have a dual effect on diabetes and cancer cells via an insulin mediated mechanism. It is well tolerated for most people but also has side effects. Here are a few to be aware of:

• Diarrhea
• Headache
• Indigestion
• Loss of appetite
• Weight loss or gain
• Nausea
• Stomach upset

Notify your doctor immediately if you experience any severe symptoms!

Visit the BreastCancerCare.us Breast Cancer Prevention section and generic Femara 2.5 mg drug to understand breast cancer prevention and numerous ways to reduce your breast cancer risk.

Diabetes Drug May Help with Cancer

April 10, 2012 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Diabetes - Did You Know?, Oral Diabetes Medication 
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Glucophage Prescription

According to a new study, the common diabetes drug metformin may be also used to treat cancer. Metformin is most commonly known as Glucophage, an oral glucose medication. It is often combined with other medications, each with the same basic function, to control blood sugar levels for diabetics.

Researchers say that this discovery may affect people with prostate cancer, melanoma, pancreatic or lung cancer. They administered metformin in addition to the patients’ regular treatments, and had positive results. They noticed definite differences between patients treated only with tumor suppressants and patients who received tumor suppressants supplemented by metformin.

The best breakthrough with this research is that metformin is one of the least expensive diabetes medications. It ups the fighting power of tumor suppressants without significantly raising the price of cancer treatments. Cancer medications are already expensive, and with the addition of metformin, patients may not need to pay for them for as long.

If you are diabetic, or your doctor has recommended adding metformin to your cancer treatment, consider buying online. You can buy Glucophage online for significantly less from a Canadian pharmacy than an American one.

New Diabetes Drug Being Tested

February 27, 2012 by · 2 Comments
Filed under: Diabetes Medication, Diabetes Research and News 

Need or necessity...

A new drug is currently being tested as a novel new way to control insulin production. The drug, which is currently in phase 2 clinical trials, is currently called TAK-875. The research, which was completed on 426 patients with type 2 diabetes, is being run by scientists out of the University of Michigan Health System. They published their results in this week’s The Lancet.

TAK-875 is a free fatty acid receptor activator. The reason this drug is different from others, such as Amaryl or Duetact, is that it works in a glucose-dependant manner. That means that it only begins functioning when there is a significant amount of extra glucose in the system, such as after a meal. TAK-785 will then help the body with insulin production. Previous medications that are reputed to help produce insulin in this way are working in the body all the time, which significantly raises the risk of hypoglycemia, a dangerous lowering of blood glucose levels.

TAK-785, when used over 12 weeks, resulted in significantly lower blood glucose levels than a placebo. It was also generally well tolerated, with very few negative side effects being reported. To conclude, the researchers stated “TAK-875 significantly improved glycaemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes with minimum risk of hypoglycemia. The results show that activation of FFAR1 is a viable therapeutic target for treatment of type 2 diabetes.”

In order to be brought to market, TAK-785 will have to complete more rigorous FDA testing as it goes through phase 3 clinical trials, which involves a significantly more populated randomized trial.

New Ultra Fast Acting Insulin Does Well in Clinical Trials

October 26, 2011 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Diabetes Control, Diabetes Medication, Diabetes Research and News, Insulin Injections 
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insulin syringe

Photo credit: Pzado

Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc., a San Diego-based pharmaceutical company, recently announced that its new “ultrafast” insulin, PH20, worked just as well as Humalog in two Phase 2 clinical trials. PH20 is an insulin analog, a type of insulin that is not produced by the human body, but functions the same way as the insulin that the body produces.

The injectable insulin analog was as effective as another insulin analog – Eli Lilly’s Humalog – at controlling blood sugar levels. In addition, PH20 was more effective than Humalog at controlling post-meal blood glucose levels. Rates of hypoglycemia were similar in PH20 insulin users, and the hypoglycemic episodes that did occur were generally mild and no more serious than those experienced by patients using Humalog.

Researchers studied the effects of the investigational diabetes medication on controlling blood sugar levels in two clinical trials conducted on about 220 participants.  One study involved patients with Type 1 diabetes, and the other involved patients with Type 2 diabetes. There was a 50 percent increase in the number of patients who regularly met guidelines for healthy post-meal blood glucose levels among those using PH20 insulin injections.

PH20 insulin is delivered using rHuPH20, or recombinant human hyaluronidase enzyme. Much of Halozyme’s work is based on the subcutaneous delivery of medications with rHuPH20, which the company says decreases costs, increases efficiency, and makes medication more convenient for patients.

Halozyme said that it will be pursuing worldwide distribution of PH20, suggesting that it may be partnering with a larger pharmaceutical manufacturer.

Diabetes Drug Byetta Approved as Add-On to Long Acting Insulin

October 20, 2011 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Diabetes Control, Diabetes Medication, Long Acting Insulin 
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The US.Food and Drug Administration has approved a new use for Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Eli Lilly’s BYETTA injection. BYETTA is now approved as an add-on therapy to insulin glargine, with or without metformin and/or a thiazolidinedione (TZD). It should be used in conjunction with diet and exercise for adults with type 2 diabetes who are not achieving adequate glycemic control on insulin glargine alone.

“This expanded use for BYETTA is important for clinical care, in that it provides a new option for the many patients with type 2 diabetes who are not achieving treatment goals,” said John Buse, M.D., Ph.D., professor of medicine, director of the Diabetes Care Center and chief of the Division of Endocrinology at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine in Chapel Hill.

“BYETTA is well-suited for use with insulin glargine, offering a simple fixed-dose regimen that can help improve control of blood sugar overall and after meals. In a clinical trial, patients using BYETTA with insulin glargine achieved better glycemic control, without weight gain or an increased risk of hypoglycemia, compared to patients using insulin glargine alone.”

BYETTA is not insulin and should not be taken instead of insulin. The diabetes medication should not be taken with short- and/or rapid-acting insulin. BYETTA should not be taken by type 1 diabetics, people with diabetic ketoacidosis or patients with a history of pancreatitis. Read the full article

Discovery of Pancreatic Insulin Switches Could Lead to New Diabetes Drugs

October 19, 2011 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Diabetes Medication, Diabetes Research and News 
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Researchers at the Salk Institute have discovered how a hormone turns on a series of molecular switches inside the pancreas that increases the production of insulin. The finding, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, raises the possibility that new designer diabetes drugs might be able to turn on key molecules in this pathway to help the 80 million Americans who have type 2 diabetes or pre-diabetic insulin resistance.

The molecular switches command pancreatic beta islet cells, the cells responsible for insulin, to grow and multiply. Tweaking these cells might offer a solution to type 1 diabetes, the form of diabetes caused by destruction of islet cells, and to type II diabetes, the form caused by insulin resistance.

“By understanding how pancreatic cells can be encouraged to produce insulin in the most efficient way possible, we may be able to manipulate those cells to treat or even prevent diabetes,” says the study’s lead author, Marc Montminy, a professor in the Clayton Foundation Laboratories for Peptide Biology at Salk.

To read the full article on ScienceDaily, >Click Here.<

Chewable Oral Diabetes Medication Enters Clinical Testing

October 12, 2011 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Diabetes Medication, Diabetes Research and News, Oral Diabetes Medication 
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diabetes medication

Photo: Leonardini

Boston Therapeutics, Inc., a developer of diabetes therapeutics, announced the initiation of its first clinical trial of its investigational diabetes medication, PAZ320, when added to other oral diabetes medication or insulin injections in patients with type 2 diabetes. Boston Therapeutics is a leader in the specialized field of glyco-pathology, focused on understanding the importance of carbohydrates in biochemistry and the progression of diseases.

“We have already seen significant reduction of post-meal elevation of glucose in preclinical models with PAZ320,” said David Platt, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Boston Therapeutics. “We are excited about our collaboration with endocrinologist Dr. Sushela Chaidarun, PhD. and Dr. Laura E. Trask at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, and the possibility to help millions of people with high blood sugar and diabetes.”

PAZ320 is a chewable complex carbohydrate-based compound designed to reduce the post-meal elevation of blood glucose. A proprietary polysaccharide designed to be taken before meals, it works in the gastrointestinal system, blocking the action of the carbohydrate-hydrolyzing enzymes that break carbohydrates down into glucose and release it into the bloodstream. Read the full article

FDA Approves First Combo Drug for Diabetes And High Cholesterol

October 7, 2011 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Diabetes Control, Diabetes Medication, It's Complicated, Oral Diabetes Medication 
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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Juvisync (sitagliptin and simvastatin), a fixed-dose combination (FDC) prescription medication that contains two previously approved medicines in one tablet for use in adults who need both sitagliptin and simvastatin.

About 20 million people in the United States have type 2 diabetes, and they often have high cholesterol levels as well. These conditions can lead to increased risk of heart disease, stroke, kidney disease and blindness, among other chronic conditions, particularly if left untreated or poorly treated.

Sitagliptin is a dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP-4) inhibitor that enhances the body’s own ability to lower elevated blood sugar and is approved for use in combination with diet and exercise to improve glycemic control in adults with type 2 diabetes. Simvastatin is an HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor, or statin, approved for use with diet and exercise to reduce the amount of “bad cholesterol” (low-density lipoprotein cholesterol or LDL-C) in the blood. Read the full article

Novo Nordisk Files for Approval of Ultra Long Acting Insulin

October 5, 2011 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Diabetes Control, Diabetes Medication, Diabetes Research and News, Insulin Delivery, Insulin Injections, Long Acting Insulin 
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Insulin

Insulin crystals

Novo Nordisk today announced the submission to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration of two new drug applications for ultra-long-acting insulin degludec and the co-formulation, insulin degludec/insulin aspart. These insulin analogs have been developed for the treatment of people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes.

“We are very excited about being able to file for the approval of insulin degludec and insulin degludec/insulin aspart now also in the US,” said Mads Krogsgaard Thomsen, Executive Vice President and Chief Science Officer at Novo Nordisk. “This is another significant milestone for Novo Nordisk and for the millions of people with diabetes who require insulin injections.”

As with the European applications submitted on September 26, the U.S. filings are based on results from the BEGIN™ and BOOST™ clinical trial programs, which involved nearly 10,000 type 1 and type 2 diabetes patients. Data from the trials have shown insulin degludec to lower blood glucose levels, while demonstrating a low rate of hypoglycemia, especially at night. Read the full article

Enhanced Long Acting Insulin to Challenge Lantus

October 4, 2011 by · 1 Comment
Filed under: Diabetes Medication, Insulin Injections, Long Acting Insulin 
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(From Bloomberg Businessweek) Drugs to treat diabetes, mostly injectable insulin, have become a $34 billion annual business crowded with manufacturers of relatively similar products. Novo Nordisk wants to stand out from the pack. Following the example of consumer product companies, the Danish drugmaker is betting that it can add product enhancements to basic insulin and command higher prices in wealthier nations.

Explains Chief Executive Officer Lars Sørensen, pounding his desk for emphasis: “A country like the US ought to be able to offer people the most modern insulins and not giving them Third World insulins.” Novo Nordisk, which gets half its $11.1 billion sales from insulin, this year is seeking U.S. and European regulatory approval for its newest treatment, degludec, in a bid to unseat Sanofi’s Lantus as the world’s best-selling diabetes medication.

Sørensen says degludec is “the fundamental part” of a strategy to boost Novo Nordisk’s sales by shifting patients in developed nations from older, cheaper types of insulin that must be taken just before mealtimes to more expensive chemically altered versions that are absorbed more slowly and act longer.

Degludec’s advantage is that it can be administered at any time, providing diabetes patients with greater flexibility, whereas Lantus insulin must be injected at the same time every day, although not necessarily at mealtimes. Trial results presented at a conference in Lisbon in September showed that degludec works as well as Lantus at controlling blood sugar.

To read the full article on Bloomberg Businessweek, >Click here.<

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