Archive for the ‘Oral Diabetes Medication’ Category

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.

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

Edible Film a Possible Insulin Delivery Platform

September 22, 2011 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Diabetes Medication, Diabetes Research and News, Insulin Delivery, Living with Diabetes, Oral Diabetes Medication 
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In another promising development in the world of diabetes medication, the specialty pharmaceutical company MonoSol Rx is testing its unique PharmFilm as a possible oral insulin delivery platform. PharmFilm is a quick-dissolving film that can be impregnated with medication and placed under the tongue or against the inside of the cheek. The medication is quickly absorbed into the bloodstream through the mouth’s mucosal membranes.

The FDA has already approved two applications of the edible film – Zuplenz to treat nausea and vomiting, and Suboxone to treat opiod dependence. MonoSol Rx is now testing two new applications for PharmFilm, one dispenses a drug to treat ADHD, and the other delivers insulin for diabetics.

Read the full article

Diabetes Drug Metformin Combined with Exercise Has Surprise Effect on Glucose Control

August 22, 2011 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Diabetes Control, Diabetes Medication, Diabetes Research and News, Oral Diabetes Medication 
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It’s common enough for researchers to look at the impacts of prescribed drugs on the body. And if you’re a diabetes researcher who believes that exercise has great benefits for those with type 2 diabetes, you’re hoping your research will show that. But when Normand Boulé looked at the dual impacts of exercise and metformin – two of the most commonly-prescribed modalities for glucose control -the hoped-for double whammy wasn’t the result.

Researchers looking at the effects of the oral diabetes medication metformin and exercise in Type 2 diabetes patients found that a combination of these modalities didn’t lower glucose control as much as hoped. Surprisingly, study participants showed better glucose control when sedentary. Researchers think that because prescription metformin and exercise both act to lower glucose levels, the combination may have triggered a counter regulatory response by the body to prevent glucose levels dipping too much.

Read the full article on ScienceDaily…

FDA Panel Recommends Against Approval of new Diabetes Medication

July 27, 2011 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Diabetes Medication, Diabetes Research and News, Oral Diabetes Medication 
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Photo credit: T. Miqueias

A panel of Food & Drug Administration advisors has voted 9 to 6 against the approval of the new oral diabetes drug, dapaglifozin.  Dapaglifozin was developed by Bristol-Myers Squibb, and was to be marketed by AstraZeneca. The panel expressed concerns about both the medication’s safety and its effectiveness, especially in the elderly.

Dapaglifozin proved as effective as current oral diabetes medications in otherwise healthy diabetics, but was not as effective in those with impaired kidney function. The panel was primarily concerned about a potential risk of breast and bladder cancers. In a two-year study, there were nine cases of bladder cancer and nine cases of breast cancer in the just under 5478 patients taking the new diabetes medication, compared to only one case of bladder cancer and one case of breast cancer in the 3156 patients in the control group. Read the full article

Diabetes Drug Metformin Safer for the Heart

July 12, 2011 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease, Diabetes Medication, Diabetes Research and News, Oral Diabetes Medication 
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Model of the human heart

The type 2 diabetes drug metformin is safer for the heart than other older diabetes medication, according to a two-year study. The findings are important because older patients with diabetes are at particular risk for cardiovascular disease, and because many of them are prescribed a class of diabetes medications called sulfonylureas that may raise this risk.

The controversial diabetes drug Avandia, which has been linked to heart problems, is a sulfonylureas diabetes drug. Sulfonylureas have also been linked to episodes of low blood sugar, and to weight gain.

Sulfonylureas drugs and metformin (also known by the brand name Glucophage) lower blood sugar in different ways. Metformin works by suppressing sugar production in the liver, while sulfonylureas work by increasing insulin production. To read more about the study findings on WebMD, >CLICK HERE.<

FDA: Long-Term Use of Actos May Be Associated With Bladder Cancer

June 17, 2011 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Diabetes Medication, Oral Diabetes Medication 
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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is informing the public that use of the diabetes medication Actos (pioglitazone) for more than one year may be associated with an increased risk of bladder cancer. Information about this risk will be added to the Warnings and Precautions section of the label for pioglitazone-containing medicines. The patient Medication Guide for these medicines will also be revised to include information on the risk of bladder cancer.

This safety information is based on FDA’s review of data from a planned five-year interim analysis of an ongoing, ten-year epidemiological study1, described in FDA’s September 2010 ongoing safety review and in the Data Summary. The five-year results showed that although there was no overall increased risk of bladder cancer with pioglitazone use, an increased risk of bladder cancer was noted among patients with the longest exposure to pioglitazone, and in those exposed to the highest cumulative dose of pioglitazone.

To read the Safety Announcement on the FDA website, >CLICK HERE.<

Diabetics May Have Super-Sticky Cholesterol

May 30, 2011 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease, Diabetes Research and News, Oral Diabetes Medication 
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Artery cross section

As if having diabetes isn’t troubling enough, the British Heart Foundation is now warning that type 2 diabetics are more likely to have a newly discovered super-sticky “ultra bad” form of cholesterol. This extra sticky cholesterol is more likely to adhere to and build up in the arteries, forming dangerous artery-narrowing plaque. These narrowed or blocked arteries are the cause of coronary heart disease and resulting heart attacks and strokes.

The super-sticky cholesterol, called MGmin-LDL, is formed by the bonding of a sugar molecule (such as glucose or fructose) to a lipid molecule (such as low density lipoprotein) in a process called glycation. Glycation changes the shape of LDL molecules, making them smaller and denser and creating more exposed areas that are likely to stick to artery walls.
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Enzyme Discovery May Lead to New Diabetes Medication

May 13, 2011 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Diabetes Medication, Diabetes Research and News, Oral Diabetes Medication 
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Researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have discovered a mechanism that stimulates glucose production in the liver in response to a drop in blood sugar. Histone deacetylasses (HDACs) are a group of enzymes that respond to what researchers call “fasting signals”.

Fasting signals kick in after long periods without food, such as overnight. HDACs are situated in liver cells, usually outside of the nucleus. The Salk researchers discovered that they move rapidly into the cell in response to fasting signals, and turn on the genes that produce glucose.
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