New diabetes drug effective for liver patients

The non-insulin dependent type-2 diabetes is a metabolic disorder and over a period of time those affected need to be on medication to be able to maintain sugar levels.

The non-insulin dependent type-2 diabetes is a metabolic disorder and over a period of time those affected need to be on medication to be able to maintain sugar levels.

Trials on new medicines are frequently conducted to come up with better drugs to deal with complications arising out of the disease as due to advanced screening methods the prevalence of type 2 diabetes is increasing alarmingly.

Boehringer Ingelheim and Eli Lilly and company, that work together in the field of diabetes care, recently announced new data on linagliptin, a drug that was launched in India last year under the brand name Trajenta, showing reduction in blood glucose levels in type-2 diabetic Asians aged above 65 years.

The drug also showed a statistically significant reduction in blood glucose in adults with type-2 diabetes and liver and biliary disease.

The data was announced during the 2013 International Conference on Diabetes and Metabolism and the 5th Asian Association for the Study of Diabetes (AASD) Annual Scientific meeting in Seoul, South Korea, recently.

According to the researchers, adults with type-2 diabetes aged 65 years or older and those with pre-existing liver and biliary disease treatment options are limited.

With the rate of type 2 diabetes rapidly growing in Asia - 63 million adults have type-2 diabetes and 83 millions are pre-diabetic who are estimated to turn diabetics by 2030, effective and safe treatment options are increasingly becoming a priority.

Worldwide also, the number of people with diabetes is expected to increase from 366 million in 2011 to 552 million in 2030.

"The data adds to a growing body of clinical evidence supporting the use of linagliptin in a broad range of adults with type-2 diabetes. Elderly with type-2 diabetes and those with pre-existing liver disease need safer drugs in terms of side-effects," said Dr Yan Gong, global medical director, BI.

Asians are predisposed to developing diabetes due to high risk factors usch as increasing overall and abdominal obesity, changes in diet and lifestyle, smoking and pancreatic function among others.

"Genetic factors also play a role as 10% Asians carry genetic variants that may lead to the disease," said Dr Linong Li, director of Peking University’s diabetes centre and director of the department of endocrinology.