New twist in diabetes drugs could reduce life-threatening side effects

Researchers from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston and the Scripps Research Institute in Jupiter, Florida, USA, report they have created prototype drugs having powerful anti-diabetic effects, yet apparently free – at least in mice – of dangerous side effects plaguing some current diabetes medications.

The researchers say that their “proof-of-principle” findings could lead to safer medications for type 2 diabetes, which affects more than 25 million children and adults in the USA. Their findings were published by the journal Nature as an advanced on-line publication and later in a print edition.

One of the drug prototypes proved capable of reducing disease symptoms in diabetes-prone mice without triggering weight gain or fluid retention, potential side effects of current drugs such as rosiglitazone (Avandia, from GlaxoSmithKline) and pioglitazone (Actos, from Takeda) that can have had fatal consequences in some patients.