A two-drug combination — involving metformin and medications known as SGLT2 inhibitors — works better at reducing blood sugar levels in diabetics than either drug alone, new research shows.
Scientists from the Helmholtz Zentrum München — a partner in the German Center for Diabetes Research — reported the findings in the journal Diabetes, suggesting a potential new way to control the metabolic disorder more effectively.
Lead researchers Susanne Neschen and Martin Hrabě de Angelis, M.D., said the new research involved studies of laboratory mice, but that the mechanisms are the same in humans.
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SGLT2 inhibitors promote the elimination of sugar in the urine and consequently reduce blood sugar levels, while metformin slows down the body's own sugar production. The interaction of the two substances causes a drop in blood sugar levels that is effective and prolonged, and the reduction is greater than with either substance administered on its own, the researchers concluded.
"The combination of drugs effectively reduces the blood sugar, and particularly also the blood sugar peaks after meals,” they said. “In diabetic mice, the double therapy produced an improvement in the long-term blood sugar level HbA1c within only two weeks," said Neschen.
"The duo consequently constitutes an effective treatment strategy for Type 2 diabetes while also producing minimal side effects," added Hrabě de Angelis.
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