Type 2 diabetes is a disease that affects lots of people.
Doctors can prescribe medications to help control blood sugar levels, but not every medication works well for every patient.
It can be tough to predict who will benefit most from which drug.
The Game-Changing Study
Scientists from Massachusetts General Hospital carried out a study to try and solve this problem. They published their results in the scientific journal Diabetologia.
They wanted to see if there were certain genetic variations in people that could predict how well they responded to two diabetes drugs, metformin and glipizide.
If they could find these genetic links, it would help personalize care for people with diabetes or at risk for developing the disease.
The SUGAR-MGH Study
Dr. Josephine Li, a diabetes expert, led the study. Her team looked at the genetics of 1,000 people who were at risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
These people received a short course of metformin and glipizide. The researchers kept track of their blood sugar and insulin levels after taking the medications.
Over a third of the participants were not of European descent, which is different from many other studies. This is important because different populations can have different genetic variants.
The Findings
The researchers discovered five genetic variants that were linked to how well the participants responded to the diabetes drugs.
Three of these variants were more common in participants of African ancestry.
One of these, called rs111770298, was associated with a weaker response to metformin treatment. This finding was confirmed in another study, the Diabetes Prevention Program.
Another genetic variant, rs703972, was linked to higher levels of a hormone that helps control blood sugar and reduces appetite.
The Future of Diabetes Treatment
This study might help doctors decide which diabetes medication to prescribe based on a patient’s genetics. This could make treatment more effective and personalized.
The researchers plan to do more studies to confirm their findings. They also shared their results publicly, so other scientists can continue this important work.
What’s the Bottom Line?
Type 2 diabetes is a complicated disease. But with this study, doctors may soon have a new tool to customize treatment based on patients’ genetics.
This could make a big difference in controlling this disease and improving patients’ lives.
If you care about diabetes, please read studies about high vitamin D levels linked to lower dementia risk in diabetes, and this eating habit could help reduce the risk of diabetes.
For more information about diabetes, please see recent studies about unhealthy plant-based diets linked to metabolic syndrome, and results showing green tea could help reduce death risk in diabetes.
The study was published in Diabetologia.
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