New Joslin diabetes trial

Scientists at the Joslin Diabetes Center are further investigating their own groundbreaking research into inflammation amongst type 2 diabetics . Their new clinical trial will investigate whether a common anti-inflammatory drug can influence blood glucose levels amongst those with type 2 diabetes.
If the trial proves to be successful, the role of salsalate (a drug often used to manage arthritic pain) could be crucial in treating diabetes in a cost effective way. The Joslin center is looking for approximately 800 adults who have a poor control over blood glucose levels to take part in a three-year study.
The clinical trials will be called the ‘Targeting Inflammation with Salsalate in Type 2 Diabetes (TINSAL T2D.) The principal investigator, Steven Shoelso, said: “This is the first large-scale study in patients that tests whether reducing inflammation can actually be used to treat diabetes. Given what we are learning about how type 2 diabetes develops, we think this might be getting at an underlying cause. We hope the study shows that targeting inflammation is a safe and inexpensive way to treat type 2 diabetes. We also hope that reducing inflammation decreases risk for coronary heart disease, which is another theory that we will be testing in a separate clinical study in the coming months.”
The news may be welcomed by healthcare services facing money problems and a tough future .