Posted on 07/02/2013 5:34:19 PM PDT by neverdem
A new study shows patients newly diagnosed with type-2 diabetes fare better when they are given a 3-drug combination compared to conventional therapy with one anti-diabetic medication.
The finding that comes from researchers at University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio was presented June 22 at the 73rd Scientific Sessions of the American Diabetes Association in Chicago.
Ralph DeFronzo, M.D., chief of the Diabetes Division in the School of Medicine at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio presented findings from a two-year study that included 134 participants at the University Health System's Texas Diabetes Institute.
The 3 drug combination given in the study included consists of metformin, pioglitazone - a newer class of medication for type 2 diabetes - and exenatide, which is a glucagon-like peptide or GLP-1 agonist. An example is the drug Byetta.
Usual treatment is to start patients with new onset of diabetes on the drug metformin; then add a drug in the sulfonylurea class that stimulates release of insulin from the pancreas and next insulin, based on response to blood sugar control.
Examples of sulfonylurea drugs include Glucatrol, Amaryl, Diabeta and Micronase. In addition to helping the beta cells in the pancreas produce more insulin the anti-diabetic drugs help the body’s cells use insulin more efficiently.
DeFronzo explains the 3-drugs used in the study for diabetes helped preserve beta cells in the pancreas.
Each has a different target that corrects two deficits associated with type-2 diabetes – the body’s inability to respond better to the hormone insulin and decreased insulin production from beta cells in the pancreas.
The goal of the therapy the researchers say was to prevent weight gain that happens easily with other anti-diabetic drugs, keep hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels normal that in turn prevents complications of blindness, kidney and blood vessel disease and prevent blood sugar levels from fluctuating.
DeFronzo reported the triple therapy for diabetes:
The 3 medications studied for new onset type-2 diabetes may not be right for every patient because of side effects that should be discussed with your doctor or pharmacist. "These drugs are not cures, but patients are basically normal while taking them," Dr. DeFronzo said in a press release.”
By not mentioning pioglitazone and exenatide, the UPI story led me to believe that the three drugs used in the test were metformin, a sulfonylurea and insulin injections.
FReepmail me if you want on or off the diabetes ping list.
Suit filed for Pancreatic Cancer By Use of Byetta, Januvia and Janumet
NEW YORK, June 14, 2013 /NEWS.GNOM.ES/ — The law firm of Rheingold, Valet, Rheingold, McCartney & Giuffra LLP has just commenced what is believed to be the first suit in New York for the development of pancreatic cancer in the user of two common anti-diabetic drugs, Byetta and Janumet (also known as Januvia). The suit, by Staten Island resident Robert Cataletto, was filed on June 14, 2013 Cataletto v. Amylin Pharmaceuticals, LLC, et al., E.D.N.Y. CV 13-3411.
Mr. Cataletto received prescriptions from the doctor attending to his adult diabetes condition in the period from 2009 to 2012 for Byetta and Janumet. Byetta, manufactured by Merck, Inc., has been on the market since 2005 and is known as a glucagen-like peptide. It treats diabetes by preventing a build- up of sugar in the body.
Junuvia is made by Amylin Pharmaceuticals LLC, a company recently bought by Bristol Myers Squibb Co. First marketed in 2007, it in the category of a dipeptidyl-peptidase-4 drug, which also reduces blood glucose levels. When combined with an older drug, metformin, the drug is known as Janumet. The broader category for the drugs involved in this law suit is known as “incretins.”
The complaint which was just filed alleges that the manufacturers of both of these products were alerted starting in 2010 that there was an increased incidence of pancreatic cancer in users of these drugs as compared to diabetics treated with the older, more proven forms of treatment. The notice also came from the German Medical Association and a petition by Public Citizen, a non-profit health group in Washington.
There have been similar reports of a sharp increase in pancreatitis—inflammation of the pancreas gland—in users of these same drugs. The complaint alleges that pancreatitis may be a forerunner of pancreatic cancer. Pancreatic cancer is among the deadliest of all cancers, for which there are no satisfactory treatments.
Complete article:
http://news.gnom.es/pr/suit-filed-for-pancreatic-cancer-by-use-of-byetta-januvia-and-janumet
IMHO, you’re on the wrong thread.
You’re right. Sorry! Something is going crazy here. I posted on another thread and the post just disappeared. Weird.
What are the three drugs? This is very confusingly written.
ping
Thanks for the link.
From the eMaxHealth article: "The 3 drug combination given in the study included consists of metformin, pioglitazone - a newer class of medication for type 2 diabetes - and exenatide, which is a glucagon-like peptide or GLP-1 agonist. An example is the drug Byetta."
They gave generic names until the end when they wrote the trade name Byetta. Glucophage and Actos are trade names of metformin and pioglitazone, respectively.
Will it be covered under Obamacare?
Type II is caused by a disturbance in the cell wall - most often related to consumption of man-altered fats... instead of high quality fats.
Please add me. Thanks Diabetes
If you enter Volek JS, Feinman RD into PubMed's query box, then you'll do an authors' search on two writers who have written 11 articles showing the benefit of carbohydrate restriction. Scan the abstracts, at least. Many are FReebies.
Try a carbohydrate restricted diet, exercise ad libitum and psyllium.
Comparison of the Atkins, Zone, Ornish, and LEARN Diets for Change in Weight and Related Risk Factors Among Overweight Premenopausal Women The A TO Z Weight Loss Study: A Randomized Trial I didn't pick the sample, but check the abstract, at least.
I’ve been taking metformin + Byetta for 4 years now, A1C has remained in the high 5’s.
Metformin kills my gut. Is there anything anybody can recommend to get through this?
Talk to your doc about reducing the dose of metformin and reducing your carbohydrate intake or using psyllium or both. Check the links in comment# 16.
I forgot to mention that your doc needs to be informed before you try my suggestions.
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