Called SGLT2 inhibitors, these drugs prescribed to regulate blood sugar in patients with diabetes 2 also show excellent results in preventing heart disease.
Causing according to the WHO more than 1.6 million deaths each year, type 2 diabetes is characterized by an abnormally high and chronic level of sugar in the blood (hyperglycemia). Caused by a lack of insulin, a hormone produced by the pancreas, type 2 diabetes can cause various pathologies such as blindness, kidney failure, but also cardiovascular diseases such as myocardial infarction or stroke. (stroke).
A new study, however, presented on Saturday August 31 as part of the 2019 Congress of the European Society of Cardiology, and published simultaneously in Cell Metabolismshows that a certain class of drugs prescribed to diabetic patients could prevent cardiovascular disorders.
Restoration of progenitor cells
The EMPA-HEART CardioLink-6 study looked at empagliflozin, a drug that belongs to the class of SGLT2 inhibitors, with the goal of lowering blood sugar. Researchers have found that circulating progenitor cells — which are found in bone marrow and play a role in heart health — as well as inflammatory cells are regulated by this diabetes drug.
“We have seen large-scale clinical trials that have clearly shown us that SGLT2 inhibitors can also protect our patients with diabetes from heart disease,” says Dr. Subodh Verma, Cardiac Surgeon and Scientist at Keenan Research Center for Biomedical Science (KRCBS) at St. Michael’s Hospital. “Before our study, it was not known why this was happening.”
Using blood samples from the EMPA-HEART CardioLink-6 study, the research team was able to show that in diabetes, regenerative progenitor cells are reduced. In patients taking empagliflozin, however, these progenitor cells were restored.
“We found that in people with diabetes, not only did beneficial progenitor cells increase, but we also observed signs of reduced inflammation and oxidative stress, which may also contribute to cardiovascular disease,” he said. Dr David Hess, who also participated in the work.
According to the researchers, these new findings could serve as the basis for new treatments for patients with heart disease complicated by diabetes.
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