FDA Update
The FDA has announced on 5/15/2015 that the use of SGLT2 inhibitors can cause too much acid in the patient. Please read the above link for additional details on this development.
A new study supports that a drug combination may be better at reducing blood sugar levels then one medication alone. Scientists suggest that this synergetic mechanism of two medications, Metformin and SGLT2 inhibitors could just be the next stage in treating diabetes.
A group of scientists led by Dr. Susanne Neschen and Prof. Dr. Martin Hrabě de Angelis from the Helmholtz Zentrum München, in cooperation with Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München and drug manufacturer Sanofi Aventis made this discovery.
The SGLT2 inhibitors enhance the decline of sugar in the urine, which in turn reduces the blood sugar levels within the body. The body however, reacts to this my producing more sugar into the body. This is where metformin plays a role. Metformin slows down the body’s ability to make sugar. When the two meet, there is a drop in blood sugar levels that is both effective and prolonged in order to decrease diabetic complications altogether.
Neschen said, “The combination of drugs effectively reduces the blood sugar, and particularly also the blood sugar peaks after meals. In diabetic mice, the double therapy produced an improvement in the long-term blood sugar level HbA1c within only two weeks.”
Hrabě de Angelis adds, “The duo consequently constitutes an effective treatment strategy for type 2 diabetes while also producing minimal side effects.”
