Doctors from many countries recently worked together on a large study to test a new medicine for people with type 2 diabetes. The research involved over 1,600 participants and was carried out in 177 locations across 14 countries. The study was led by Dr. Vanita R. Aroda from Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.
Type 2 diabetes is a common health problem around the world. It happens when the body cannot use insulin properly, leading to high levels of sugar in the blood. One important way to check blood sugar over time is through a test called HbA1c. This test gives doctors an idea of how well a person’s diabetes has been controlled over the last two to three months.
For this study, people were chosen if their HbA1c levels were between 8.0 and 10.5 percent, which means their blood sugar was quite high. They were also already taking between one and three types of diabetes pills, but still needed better blood sugar control.
The study tested a medicine called semaglutide, which is already used in smaller doses to help manage diabetes and weight. This time, researchers wanted to see what would happen if people took bigger daily doses.
The participants were divided into three groups. One group took 14 milligrams of semaglutide every day, the second group took 25 milligrams, and the third group took 50 milligrams. The people continued this treatment for 68 weeks, which is more than a year.
The goal was to see whether the medicine could help lower HbA1c levels over time. After the year-long trial, results showed that all three doses of semaglutide helped lower blood sugar. However, the people who took the larger doses — 25 mg and 50 mg — saw the biggest improvements. These higher doses lowered HbA1c levels more than the 14 mg dose.
In addition to better blood sugar control, people who took the higher doses also lost more weight, which is helpful since being overweight can make diabetes harder to manage. The medicine appeared to support both better blood sugar and weight management.
As with many medicines, some people had side effects. The most common ones were stomach-related problems such as nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea. These side effects happened more often in the groups taking the larger doses, but most were not serious and got better over time.
This study is important because it shows that taking a higher dose of semaglutide daily may help people with type 2 diabetes control their blood sugar more effectively and also lose weight. This could offer a new option for those who are struggling to manage their condition with their current treatments.
Still, it’s important for patients and doctors to talk about the risks and benefits, especially since higher doses can cause more stomach issues. This research adds to the growing list of new treatments being tested for diabetes and related health problems.
The study was published in the well-known medical journal The Lancet.
If you care about diabetes, please read studies about 5 vitamins that may prevent complication in diabetes, and how to manage high blood pressure and diabetes with healthy foods.
For more health information, please see recent studies about vitamin D and type2 diabetes, and to people with type 2 diabetes, some fruits are better than others.
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