No quick drug fix for high diabetes risk
- 26 March 2010
Two key treatments do not halt diabetes in people with early signs of the disease, a large study has found. Researchers said the results showed the only way to ensure future health in people at high risk of diabetes is exercise and a healthy diet. Trials in more than 9,000 people also found no reduction in future heart problems in people prescribed two drug treatments compared with dummy pills. In the trial, researchers in the US and UK looked at whether using a drug that lowers blood pressure or a drug which lowers blood sugar could be used to stop diabetes developing in high-risk patients. But the results, from patients in 40 countries, found no great difference in how many people went on to get diabetes when prescribed either drug compared with a dummy pill. Neither did the drugs prevent future heart attacks and strokes, which are dangerous complications of the condition.