People living with type 2 diabetes often face more than high blood sugar. Many also develop chronic kidney disease, and together these conditions greatly increase the risk of heart attacks, strokes, heart failure, and early death.
Because heart disease remains the leading cause of death in people with diabetes, researchers continue searching for treatments that can protect both blood sugar control and heart health.
A new international study has brought encouraging news by showing that a newly approved medicine called sotagliflozin may help reduce some of the most dangerous cardiovascular events in people at high risk.
The medicine was recently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for certain patients with heart failure and diabetes-related conditions. Researchers now report that it may also lower the chances of heart attacks and strokes in people with type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease.
The study was led by Dr. Deepak L. Bhatt from Mount Sinai and the findings were published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology.
Sotagliflozin belongs to a family of medicines known as sodium-glucose cotransporter, or SGLT, inhibitors. These medicines lower blood sugar by helping the kidneys remove extra glucose through the urine.
Most medicines in this group only block a protein called SGLT2. Sotagliflozin is different because it blocks both SGLT2 and another protein called SGLT1. SGLT1 is found not only in the kidneys but also in the intestines, heart, and brain. Scientists believe this extra action may explain why the drug provides broader protection than similar medicines.
To test the treatment, researchers carried out the SCORED clinical trial. More than 10,500 adults with type 2 diabetes, chronic kidney disease, and additional risk factors for heart disease took part.
Participants were randomly assigned to receive either sotagliflozin or a placebo, which contained no active medicine. Neither the patients nor the researchers knew who was receiving which treatment during the study, making the results more reliable. Participants were followed for an average of about 16 months.
The results were impressive. People taking sotagliflozin had a 23 percent lower risk of experiencing heart attacks, strokes, or death from cardiovascular disease compared with those taking the placebo. These findings suggest that the medicine not only helps manage diabetes and kidney disease but also provides important protection for the heart and blood vessels.
Dr. Bhatt explained that these findings give doctors another valuable treatment option for patients with diabetes, chronic kidney disease, and heart failure. The medicine had already shown benefits in reducing deaths from heart disease, hospital admissions for heart failure, and emergency visits related to worsening heart failure.
The new analysis expands those benefits by showing that it may also lower the risk of heart attacks and strokes, outcomes that have been more difficult to improve with other medicines in the same drug class.
Although the findings are encouraging, they do not mean the medicine is right for everyone. Doctors still need to consider each patient’s overall health, other medical conditions, possible side effects, and current medications before recommending treatment.
Researchers will also continue following patients and conducting additional studies to better understand the long-term safety and effectiveness of sotagliflozin in different groups of people.
Overall, this research represents an important advance in the treatment of people with type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease.
These patients often face multiple health challenges at the same time, and a medicine that can help control blood sugar while reducing the risk of serious cardiovascular events could have a major impact on public health.
If future studies continue to support these findings, sotagliflozin may become an increasingly important part of treatment for people at high risk of heart disease.
If you care about heart health, please read studies about the best time to take vitamins to prevent heart disease, and calcium supplements could harm your heart health.
For more health information, please see recent studies that blackcurrants can reduce blood sugar after meal and results showing how drinking milk affects risks of heart disease and cancer.
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