A commonly used diabetes drug may do more than lower blood sugar—it might also help reverse the damage aging does to blood vessels, according to a new study from the University of Missouri School of Medicine.
The research focused on empagliflozin (Empa), an FDA-approved medication used to treat type 2 diabetes.
Scientists found that this drug improved blood vessel function and reduced stiffness in the arteries of older mice, a condition known to worsen with age and increase the risk of heart disease.
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death among older adults in the United States. While current treatments such as weight loss, exercise, blood pressure medication, and cholesterol-lowering drugs can help, they don’t always work well for everyone.
“We need new ways to protect the blood vessels as people age,” said Dr. Camila Manrique-Acevedo, associate professor of medicine.
To begin, the researchers compared two groups of healthy humans: young adults around age 25 and older adults around age 61. As expected, the older group showed signs of worse blood vessel function and stiffer arteries. These changes are linked with aging and a higher risk of heart problems.
To see if empagliflozin could help, the team then tested the drug in male mice that were about 72 weeks old—roughly the age when signs of vascular aging appear.
Half the mice received food mixed with the diabetes drug for six weeks, while the others ate a normal diet. Afterward, the researchers found that the mice who took the drug had better blood vessel function and less stiff arteries than those that did not.
“This is the first study to suggest that empagliflozin might reverse the effects of aging on blood vessels,” said Manrique-Acevedo. “These results are promising and show that SGLT2 inhibitors like empagliflozin could help older adults by protecting their heart and blood vessels—even beyond managing diabetes.”
The researchers now hope to see more clinical trials in humans to explore how this type of drug could be used to prevent or delay aging-related heart problems.
The study was published in the journal GeroScience.
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The study is published in GeroScience.
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