In a recent study, scientists in Japan looked at how a drug called dapagliflozin affects people who have both heart failure and type 2 diabetes.
This study was important because it focused on how the drug impacts a specific health marker in the urine, known as the urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UACR).
The UACR is a test that helps doctors understand how well the kidneys are working. The study also observed the drug’s effect on heart-related issues.
The research was led by Fumiki Yoshihara from the National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Center in Osaka, Japan. His team conducted a large study across 18 medical centers in Japan.
They wanted to see if dapagliflozin could improve UACR levels in patients with heart failure and type 2 diabetes. To do this, they set up a trial where patients were randomly put into two groups.
One group received dapagliflozin, while the other group did not (this group is known as the control group). In total, 294 patients participated, with 146 in the dapagliflozin group and 148 in the control group.
At the end of the two-year study, most of the patients in the dapagliflozin group were taking a 5 mg dose of the drug every day.
The researchers found that, when it came to UACR, there was no significant difference between the two groups. This was a surprising finding, as it was different from what previous studies had shown.
However, the study did find some positive results for dapagliflozin. The drug seemed to help with certain heart-related measurements.
For example, it reduced the size of the left ventricle in the heart, which is a good sign because an enlarged left ventricle can be a problem in heart failure.
The dapagliflozin group also had fewer serious heart-related events, like heart failure or needing to go to the hospital for heart issues.
It’s important to note that the study was partially funded by some pharmaceutical companies, including AstraZeneca and Ono Pharmaceuticals.
Some of the researchers also had connections to these companies. This is common in medical research, but it’s something to keep in mind when considering the results.
In summary, this study showed that while dapagliflozin may not improve kidney function as measured by UACR in patients with heart failure and type 2 diabetes, it does seem to offer some benefits for heart health.
This is valuable information for doctors and patients when making decisions about treating these complex conditions.
The research findings can be found in eClinicalMedicine.
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