New Pill Will Treat Diabetes and Heart Disease

A new treatment is under way that will be able to treat both heart disease and type 2 diabetes at the same time. If successful, the drug will be able to take the place of the current treatment which uses statins.

It was discovered that this new drug, which is part of the class of medications known as cholesterol ester transfer proteins, or CETPs, has the ability to raise the body's level of good cholesterol, known as HDL. But researchers determined that it also had the ability to stabilize blood glucose levels in diabetics.

While this is good news for diabetics, it is also encouraging for heart patients since they often do not respond well to statins. Statins are typically prescribed as a way of lowering the body's level of bad cholesterol, known as LDL. Lowering this type of cholesterol reduces the patient's risk of developing both heart disease, as well as diabetes.

The research showed that when one CETP in particular, torcetrapib, was taken in combination with a statin, the levels of HDL, or good cholesterol, shot up by an astonishing 67 percent. But when patients were only given statins, there was absolutely no change in their cholesterol level.

At the same time, the combination of the two medications also managed to lower blood sugar levels by 7 percent more than individuals who only took the statins. A positive side note was that insulin resistance was also improved. This could lead to a reduction in the number of individuals who experience heart attacks, cardiovascular disease and other complications from diabetes.

Scientists are also working to develop two other drugs, dalcetrapib and anacetrapib, for similar purposes.