Good News for People with Type 2 Diabetes: New Once-Weekly Jab

Good news for people suffering from type 2 diabetesdefine! A latest study conducted by Canadian researchers suggests that people suffering from type 2 diabetes who have to take insulindefine shots twice a day will be able to keep their condition under control by taking once-a-week jab for the disease.

The latest treatment, Exenatide aka ‘exenatide once weekly’ is the new version of the currently available treatment for type 2 diabetesdefine, Exenatide (Byetta). The new injectable drug is the first in a new class of medications that mimics the action of GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide), a naturally occurring hormone that is produced in the intestine after eating.

Over two million people in the UK suffer from type 2 diabetes, also known as lifestyle diabetes linked with obesity, poor diet and sedentary lifestyle. And in United States, approximately 24 million people suffer from this disease, which affects nearly 85 to 90% of all people with diabetes. These are the findings of a study conducted at the Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute (SLRI) of Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, Canada.

Lead author of the study, Dr Daniel Drucker, clinician-scientist and the senior investigator in SLRI conducted the study on 300 people suffering from type 2 diabetes in Canada. The subjects were divided into two groups, half of them received Exenatide (older, twice a day jab) and another half received new injectable drug (weekly jab) for six months period.

The researcher found that nearly 75 percent of the patients who received new weekly Exenatide got their diabetes well under control and had fewer side effects and no increased risk of hypoglycemia. The findings of the study appear in the medical journal - The Lancet.

Sometimes people suffering from type 2 diabetes are not able to keep the blood sugar level down even after eating right and exercising regularly and have to take insulindefine shots if their condition deteriorates.

But the new Exenatide once-a-week injection works like a hormone that should be produced naturally in the gut. SLRI says in its press release that the new treatment could be considered by the Canada Regulatory Board as early as 2009.

Diabetes is the 6th leading cause of death and disability in the Australia, fifth leading cause of death and disability in the United States and seventh leading cause of death and disability in Canada. The disease can cause serious health complications including eye damage, heart disease, kidney failure, impotence, neuropathy and feet problems.

Type 2 diabetes can lead to kidney failure, limb loss, blindness, hypertension and cardiovascular disease. Nearly 75 percent of the diabetic patients die of cardiovascular disease. The causes of type 2 diabetes are known and in some cases it can be prevented; however there is no cure for type 2 diabetes.