New drug good news for diabetics

From the London (Ont.) Free Press:
Peter Gardner knows all about the challenges of managing Type 2 diabetes -- he's been doing it for seven years.

The Londoner, in his 60s, is among the nearly two million Canadians who got some good news recently when Health Canada approved a new class of oral medications for Type 2 diabetes that will help patients control their blood sugar levels without gaining weight, a common problem.

The drugs -- called DPP-4 inhibitors -- also are not associated with hypoglycemia -- dangerously low blood sugar levels that can prove as lethal as skyrocketing levels.

And with a recent study showing 50 per cent of Canadians with Type 2 diabetes are not meeting their blood sugar goals, Dr. Irene Hramiak of St. Joseph's Health Care London said the new inhibitors are a welcome weapon in battling what has become the leading cause of death by disease in North America. ...more