Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Salsalate may be useful for the treatment of patients with type 2 diabetes .....

We know that Salsalate (see structure; source Drugs.com)  is a  non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) belonging to salicylates. It is used in the treatment of Osteo Arthritis and  Rheumatoid Arthritis. 


Now researchers from Harvard Medical School, lead by Dr. Allison Goldfine, have come up with interesting finding, i.e., Salsalate may be useful for the treatment of patients with type 2 diabetes as well. In a three-month trial of people with type 2 diabetes ,  those who took the drug showed significantly improved blood glucose levels. 

Starting off, the patients all had levels of hemoglobin A1C (a standard measurement that reflects blood sugar levels over several months) in the range of 7.0 to 9.5%. A significant number of those who took salsalate saw this number drop by 0.5%, a result that is in the range of several recently released diabetes therapeutics. Other tests related to glucose levels also showed substantial improvement.  

Overall the drug appeared to be safe and to be tolerated well by patients. The study included 108 individuals, aged from 18 to 75 years, at 17 clinical sites around the United States. Patients were randomly divided into four; three groups were each given differing amounts of salsalate in three daily doses, while the fourth received placebos. All patients continued with their current regimes for managing diabetes.

Though these preliminary findings  suggests  that,   salsalate may provide an effective, safe and inexpensive new avenue for diabetes treatment, however the researchers  want to complete the ongoing  additional studies so that they can further substantiate their claim........

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