New drugs reduce blood sugar
By Nathan Seppa
From Washington, D.C., at a meeting of the American Diabetes Association
Two experimental drugs can lower blood sugar significantly in people with type 2 diabetes, research shows. If approved by the Food and Drug Administration, the drugs could represent a new class of diabetes medication.
Both compounds inhibit an enzyme called dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP-4), which usually controls the body’s production of a hormone, called GLP1. Cells lining the intestines normally release GLP1 in response to ingested sugars, and the hormone then alerts cells in the pancreas to release insulin for sugar regulation (SN: 8/16/03, p. 104: Available to subscribers at Blood Sugar Fix).