Type 2 diabetes is one of the world’s fastest-growing health problems. Millions of people are living with the condition, and the numbers continue to rise each year.
Type 2 diabetes happens when the body can no longer use insulin properly. Insulin is a hormone that helps move sugar from the bloodstream into the body’s cells, where it is used for energy. When insulin does not work well, sugar builds up in the blood.
Over time, high blood sugar can damage many parts of the body. It can increase the risk of heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, nerve damage, and vision problems. Because of these serious health risks, keeping blood sugar under control is extremely important.
For many people with Type 2 diabetes, treatment begins with a medicine called metformin. Doctors often prescribe metformin because it is effective, relatively inexpensive, and generally safe. The drug works mainly by reducing the amount of sugar produced by the liver and helping the body respond better to insulin.
However, Type 2 diabetes is a long-term condition that often becomes more difficult to manage over time. As the disease progresses, metformin alone may no longer be enough to keep blood sugar levels within a healthy range. Many patients eventually need additional treatments.
Now, researchers at Thomas Jefferson University have reported encouraging findings that may offer a better option for people whose diabetes is not well controlled with metformin alone.
Their study, published in the journal Diabetes Care, found that combining two diabetes medicines, dapagliflozin and exenatide, produced better and more lasting improvements than using either drug by itself.
The study included 695 adults with Type 2 diabetes. All of the participants were already taking metformin, but their blood sugar levels remained too high. The researchers divided the participants into three groups.
One group added exenatide, which is given as an injection once a week. Another group added dapagliflozin, which is taken as a daily tablet. The third group received both medicines together while continuing to take metformin.
The researchers followed the participants for two years. The results clearly showed that the combination treatment worked best. People who received both medicines had better blood sugar control than those who took only one of the drugs. Importantly, the improvements lasted throughout the two-year study period.
The two medicines work in different ways, which helps explain why they are effective together. Dapagliflozin helps the kidneys remove excess sugar from the body through urine. Because this process does not depend on insulin, it can still work even when insulin function is impaired.
Exenatide works differently. It encourages the body to release more insulin after meals, slows the movement of food through the stomach, reduces sugar production by the liver, and helps people feel full for longer periods. As a result, many people eat less and lose weight.
Because the drugs target different processes in the body, they appear to complement one another. The combination not only improved blood sugar control but also helped patients lose weight and lowered blood pressure.
Both of these benefits are especially important because many people with Type 2 diabetes are also overweight or have high blood pressure, which further increases the risk of heart disease.
The researchers also found that the treatment combination was safe. No unexpected side effects or major safety concerns emerged during the two-year study.
Lead researcher Dr. Serge Jabbour believes these findings could change the way doctors manage Type 2 diabetes in people who no longer achieve good control with metformin alone. Instead of adding only one extra medicine, some patients may benefit more from using two complementary drugs together.
The findings are particularly encouraging because Type 2 diabetes requires lifelong management. Treatments that continue working over many years are especially valuable. Better blood sugar control, combined with improvements in weight and blood pressure, could help reduce the risk of future complications and improve quality of life.
Although doctors will still need to consider each patient’s individual circumstances, the study provides strong evidence that effective options exist beyond metformin alone. For many people living with Type 2 diabetes, this combination approach may offer a new way to manage the condition more successfully and protect their health over the long term.
If you care about diabetes, please read studies about Vitamin D and type 2 diabetes, and what you need to know about avocado and type 2 diabetes.
For more health information, please see recent studies about how to eat to prevent type 2 diabetes, and 5 vitamins that may prevent complication in diabetes.
Copyright © 2026 Knowridge Science Report. All rights reserved.
