Aspirin Cousin May Lower Diabetes Risk
Aspirin Cousin May Lower Diabetes Risk
Salsalate Improves Glucose Control in Small Study
The preliminary findings prompted the National Institutes of Health to fund a much larger trial designed to examine the safety and effectiveness of salsalate as a treatment for diabetes.
The three-year trial is now under way at 16 diabetes centers across the U.S.
A three-month study evaluating salsalate for the prevention of diabetes in patients at high risk for developing the disease has also been funded, as has a study examining the drug's impact on cardiovascular disease in high-risk patients.
Joslin researcher Steven Shoelson, MD, PhD, tells WebMD that if early findings are confirmed, salsalate could prove to be even more beneficial than the widely prescribed diabetes drug metformin.
The generically available drug would also be much cheaper for patients than most other drugs used in the treatment of diabetes.
"If we establish that this drug works, it could be the second metformin, with the added benefit of possibly lowering the risk of cardiovascular disease" he says.
Aspirin Cousin May Lower Diabetes Risk
Salsalate Improves Glucose Control in Small Study
More Studies Under Way
The preliminary findings prompted the National Institutes of Health to fund a much larger trial designed to examine the safety and effectiveness of salsalate as a treatment for diabetes.
The three-year trial is now under way at 16 diabetes centers across the U.S.
A three-month study evaluating salsalate for the prevention of diabetes in patients at high risk for developing the disease has also been funded, as has a study examining the drug's impact on cardiovascular disease in high-risk patients.
Joslin researcher Steven Shoelson, MD, PhD, tells WebMD that if early findings are confirmed, salsalate could prove to be even more beneficial than the widely prescribed diabetes drug metformin.
The generically available drug would also be much cheaper for patients than most other drugs used in the treatment of diabetes.
"If we establish that this drug works, it could be the second metformin, with the added benefit of possibly lowering the risk of cardiovascular disease" he says.
