A diabetes drug approved by the US Food and Drug Administration shows promising results against heart attack and stroke. This has been mentioned in a study. 

Diabetes Medicine For Heart Attacks: A team of researchers led by an Indian-origin person has found that a drug recently approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat type 2 diabetes can also reduce heart attacks and strokes. 

How many people were researched?

An international clinical trial involving more than 10,000 participants found that the drug - Sotagliflozin, which is also approved for the treatment of kidney disease, can also reduce heart-related risks in these patients.

Effects of Sotagliflozin

Sotagliflozin is a sodium-glucose cotransporter (SGLT) inhibitor. It blocks the action of 2 proteins, SGLT1 and SGLT2, which transport glucose and sodium across cell membranes and help control blood sugar levels. Other SGLT2 inhibitors do not block SGLT1 as significantly.

What did the Indian-origin researcher say?

Deepak L. Bhatt, director of Mount Sinai Fuster Heart Hospital and professor of cardiovascular medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, said, "These results demonstrate a new mechanism of action - combined blockage of SGLT1 receptors (found in the kidney, intestine, heart and brain) and SGLT2 receptors (found in the kidney) with sotagliflozin - to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke."

Professor Deepak L. Bhatt said, "The benefits seen here are different from those seen with other very popular SGLT2 inhibitors in clinical use for diabetes, heart failure and kidney disease."

The randomized, multicenter trial included 10,584 patients with chronic kidney disease, type 2 diabetes, and additional cardiovascular risk factors; and analyzed the ability of sotagliflozin to reduce the risk of life-threatening cardiovascular outcomes. Participants were followed for an average of 16 months.

The results, published in The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology, showed that people in the sotagliflozin group had a 23 percent reduction in the rate of heart attack, stroke and other deaths from cardiovascular risk factors, compared with the placebo group.

Professor Bhatt said sotagliflozin was approved to reduce the risk of death from heart problems, hospitalisation for heart failure and urgent heart failure treatment for patients with heart failure or type 2 diabetes, chronic kidney disease and other cardiovascular risk factors. "The new data shows it also reduces the risk of heart attack and stroke, and we may see more widespread use following these results."

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