As people age, the health of their blood vessels tends to decline. Blood vessels become stiffer and less able to expand and contract, making it harder for the body to regulate blood flow and blood pressure. These changes raise the risk of heart disease, stroke, and other serious health problems.
Now, new research suggests that a common diabetes medication called Empagliflozin may help slow or even reverse some of these age-related changes in the blood vessels.
The study, published in GeroScience, was led by researchers exploring ways to improve vascular health in older adults. Empagliflozin — often known by its brand name, Jardiance — is an FDA-approved drug widely used to treat type 2 diabetes by lowering blood sugar.
It works by blocking a protein in the kidneys called SGLT2, which normally reabsorbs sugar back into the blood. By blocking this protein, the drug helps the body get rid of excess sugar through urine.
But the new study suggests Empagliflozin might do more than manage blood sugar. The researchers wanted to see if the drug could also improve the health of blood vessels in older adults.
To begin, they compared the blood vessel function of young adults (average age 25) and older adults (average age 61). As expected, the older adults had stiffer arteries and poorer function in the lining of their blood vessels — signs of what is known as vascular aging.
The key part of the study involved 72-week-old mice, which are considered older in terms of their life cycle. The mice were split into two groups. One group was fed a normal diet, while the other group received food mixed with Empagliflozin for six weeks.
At the end of the study, the mice that received the drug showed significant improvements in their blood vessel health. Their arteries were less stiff, and the inner lining of their blood vessels — known as the endothelium — functioned better. These are encouraging signs that the drug could help combat age-related damage in blood vessels.
Although the exact reason for these benefits is still being studied, researchers believe it’s connected to how SGLT2 inhibitors affect not just blood sugar, but also oxidative stress, inflammation, and blood pressure — all of which contribute to vascular aging.
This is the first study to show that blocking the SGLT2 protein might directly benefit the aging cardiovascular system, even in people who do not have diabetes. If future research in humans confirms these results, Empagliflozin and other SGLT2 inhibitors could become a new tool to help older adults maintain healthier blood vessels for longer.
Of course, these findings are still early and based on animal studies. Human clinical trials will be needed to see if the same benefits hold true in people. But the researchers are optimistic.
With support from respected funders such as the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, this study lays the groundwork for exciting new approaches to aging and heart health.
For now, Empagliflozin continues to be a proven treatment for type 2 diabetes — and it may one day help us age more gracefully, from the inside out.
If you care about diabetes, please read studies that MIND diet may reduce risk of vision loss disease, and Vitamin D could benefit people with diabetic neuropathic pain.
For more information about diabetes, please see recent studies that Vitamin E could help reduce blood sugar and insulin resistance in diabetes, and results showing eating eggs in a healthy diet may reduce risks of diabetes, high blood pressure.
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