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Small European study finds possible benefit for rheumatoid arthritis drug in diabetes
04/24/07
Clinical Trials, Diabetes Medications, Type II Diabetes, Treatment Options, Research, General
A few years ago some researchers from Switzerland, Sweden, and Denmark had an idea. They suspected that by encouraging the body to use less of the interleukin-1 protein, people with diabetes would improve. Interleukin-1 is a protein that works to increase pain, swelling and fever. They recruited 70 patients with type 2 diabetes to test their theory.
- Had significantly lower blood glucose measures than the group that got the placebo
- Increased their own insulin production
- Had less inflammation in their bodies.
Now that this study is complete, the next move probably belongs to Amgen, the company that markets anakinra as Kineret. Based on one study with 70 participants, doctors will not start prescribing this right away to patients. The study only lasted 13 weeks, so we don't know if its gets better or worse beyond that point.
Amgen made this drug hoping to sell it to a portion of the millions of people living with rheumatoid arthritis. To their surprise, they found that it may actually be a viable treatment for the millions of people living with diabetes. Diabetes affects roughly seven times the number of people with arthritis.