Actos can help to lower risk of diabetes, says new study

New research into the drug Actos has found it could help lower the chances of developing type 2 diabetes for high-risk patients, it has emerged.
The study, of over 600 high-risk patients and sponsored by Takeda Pharmaceuticals who manufacture the drug, revealed that if Actos is taken daily it could reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by two-thirds in patients at high risk such as those with obesity, a family history of the metabolic condition, or due to their ethnicity .
It was shown that just 2.1 per cent of people who took Actos went on to develop diabetes every year for the three years of the study, as compared to 7.6 per cent that had taken a placebo . All those who took part in the trial had problems with managing their levels of blood sugar, but not enough to have brought on diabetes.
The study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, found that Actos was able to lower the progression to diabetes by 72 per cent on those tested.
Ralph A. DeFronzo, who led the study, commented “The ability to intervene at a prediabetic state before we become diabetic and become at risk for complications is extremely important.”