Tailored treatment plans are more beneficial than single drugs when it comes to treating individuals with type 2 diabetes and obesity, a global team of academics have said.
Scientists from Canada and Germany are now working together to detect the best drug combinations for people with the two conditions.
- Man puts type 2 diabetes into remission 23 years since diagnosis
- High rate of type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure associated with brain changes
The researchers have announced that they are hoping to use a combination of drugs rather than having to rely on more invasive singular treatments, including bariatric surgery.
Lead researcher, Professor Andrea Haqq said: “As a paediatric endocrinologist, I can tell you we’re seeing more and more type 2 diabetes in kids and adolescents, and it seems to be a more aggressive form than adult-onset diabetes, so we do need better therapies to achieve even greater efficacy and degree of weight loss.”
Recently, the team of academics released a paper that analyses the benefits of using multiple drugs that control incretins.
According to the study, these metabolic hormones stimulate the body to develop insulin and to use it appropriately.
In addition, they reduce a person’s hunger levels in order to manage their blood sugars and decrease their weight.
The scientists have found that using a combination of drugs has multiple benefits, such as higher effectiveness and a lower number of side-effects.
“Even a five per cent weight loss is considered clinically meaningful, and people in some of the combination drug trials are achieving 10 or 15 per cent,” said Professor Haqq.
The academics have said that more research is needed so that they can uncover why people have different reactions to different drugs and why an individual’s biological sex can affect drug efficacy and safety.
This report has been published in the journal Frontiers in Endocrinology.
