
Headlines from the 2017 ADA Scientific Sessions
Headlines from the 2017 ADA Scientific Sessions
The American Diabetes Association (ADA) recently wrapped up the 78th Scientific Sessions its annual conference for presenting new research in the diabetes field in San Diego. Here is a sampling of studies presented at the meeting:
The popular oral diabetes drug metformin may provide some protection against atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) in people with Type 1 diabetes but does not appear to benefit blood sugar control, according to results from the Reducing with Metformin Vascular Adverse Lesions (REMOVAL) trial. A total of 428 people age 40 and over with Type 1 diabetes and at increased cardiovascular risk were randomly assigned to receive either 1,000 milligrams of metformin twice daily or placebo (inactive treatment) for the course of the three-year trial.
The medicine did not significantly reduce carotid artery intima-media thickness, a marker of atherosclerosis, and although it did significantly reduce HbA1c (a measure of glucose control over the previous 23 months), this was only for the first three months of the study. However, metformin did decrease body weight and LDL (bad) cholesterol, indicating that it may have benefits for people with Type 1 diabetes.
The trial changes the way we think about metformin. The guidelines suggest you can add it in obese Type 1 diabetes patients to reduce glucose, but we didnt see much evidence of glucose reduction beyond three months, noted lead investigator John R. Petrie, MD, PhD. Obviously, dont use it for glucose lowering. But consider using it for reducing weig
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