To facilitate the administration of drugs to treat diabetes and reduce the number of doses taken per day, new combination drugs decrease glucose levels in the blood, lower blood pressure and help losing calories.
The drug is a combination of metformin, which the first-line medication for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, and canagliflozin, which lowers blood sugar by causing the kidneys to get rid of more glucose in the urine, said Dr. Fernando Lavalle Gonzalez, an endocrinologist and specialist in diabetes and obesity at the Autonomous University of Nuevo Leon.
Lavalle Gonzalez explained that the combination helps reducing calories and blood pressure, so it is ideal for diabetics who need to lose weight, but who struggle to do it because of the treatment. The treatment helps patients to lose body mass; however, this does not mean that it is a drug to lose weight, and it must always be accompanied by a balanced diet and exercise.
Canagliflozin is in a class of medications called sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors, which reduces glucose levels in the blood, body weight and blood pressure.
The combination therapy reduces the number of pills taken daily, promoting adherence to treatment.
“Most people have to take several medications, the more pills they need to take; the more likely it is that they forget one“.
Generally, metformin is prescribed to people with diabetes; but it could lose its effectiveness over the years, and may require another drug to keep reducing glucose levels, Lavalle Gonzalez said.
This drug can be used at almost any stage of diabetes, for example, when metformin begins to fail, or if the patient has very high levels of glucose.
The specialist Lavalle González explained that half of patients with diabetes have no symptoms before they are diagnosed; and when it is finally detected, patients have very high levels of glucose.
“This type of patient can start with combination therapy of two drugs, which helps them to return to normal levels.”
Source: Agencia ID
