• Should one go for the new researches?

While the well-established hypothesis of controlling diabetes is still debated, trickling in of more researches and insights further add to the dilemma.

The Steno-2 study, published on the same day in the New England Journal of Medicine, for instance, states that in high-risk type 2 diabetes patients, early intensive intervention with multiple drug combinations and behaviour modification, leads to reduced rates of death and cardiovascular disorders.

While the results of Steno-2 at first glance appear to be in direct contrast to those of ACCORD, experts insist that the study populations of the two trials should not be confused.

“Patients in Steno-2 were younger and had been diabetic for an average of six years and just 25 per cent of Steno-2 patients had known cardiovascular disease on entry. Also, because of treatment resistance, only 18 per cent of patients in Steno-2 achieved the target HBA1c level of below 6.5 per cent,” says Dr Anoop Mishra, Director and HoD, Diabetes and Metabolic Diseases, Fortis Hospital.

Adds Dr SK Wangnoo, senior consultant endocrinologist, Apollo Hospitals: “One has to understand that most of these studies are driven by pharma-clinical trials. And a single study should never prompt the patient to alter the ongoing course of medication, as the treatment is purely individualistic.”

• Is there a new remedy ahead?

Today most therapies are being developed with an aim to preserve the beta-cell insulin. Though data about the success rate of a new drug called Byetta is limited, it is believed to considerably supplement the GLP1 molecules, responsible for stimulating insulin production in the body.

... contd.