Drug for Malaria could help diabetics

According to recent reports, a popular drug usually used to treat malaria could have a strong positive influence on averting the risk of developing diabetes, amongst patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis . The findings were reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
According to the findings, rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients taking hydroxychloroquine staved off developing type 2 diabetes. However, whether the drug truly guards against diabetes remains to be seen.
Hydroxychloroquine is sold under the brand names Paquenil and Quineprox, and is usually used to treat malaria. Experts from the University of Pittsburgh tested the drugs results amongst almost 5,000 rheumatoid arthritics. The malaria drug is cheap to buy and its long-term side effects are clearly documented.
Further studies are required before any decisions are made.