Heart Disease

Common heart drug’s link to diabetes uncovered by researchers

Date:
June 11, 2014
Source:
McMaster University
Summary:
Statins activated a very specific immune response, which stopped insulin from doing its job properly, researchers have found. They connected the dots and found that combining statins with another drug on top of it, Glyburide, suppressed this side effect. Approximately 13 million people, or half of those over the age of 40, could be prescribed a statin drug in their lifetime.

McMaster University researchers may have found a novel way to suppress the devastating side effect of statins, one of the worlds’ most widely used drugs to lower cholesterol and prevent heart disease. Statins have devastating side effects that have created a storm in the patient world, and an increased risk of diabetes has been added to the warning label for statin use.

Statins activated a very specific immune response, which stopped insulin from doing its job properly. Combining statins with another drug on top of it, Glyburide, suppressed this side effect.

The next stage of their research is to understand how statins promote diabetes by understanding how they work in the pancreas, which secretes insulin.

 

Story Source:

The above story is based on materials provided by McMaster University.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.