Victoza (Liraglutida), a drug to reduce blood sugar, reduces the risk of heart attack and stroke (stroke) in patients with type 2 diabetes, finds a new study.

Heart disease is the main cause of death among people with type 2 diabetes, the researchers noted.

The study was funded by the drug manufacturer, Novo Nordisk, and the National Health Institutes of the United States. Uu. Included more than 9,300 adults from 32 countries with type 2 diabetes and with a high risk of heart disease.

More or less half took Victoza, and the other half a placebo.Both groups also took other drugs for heart problems, such as hypertension and high cholesterol, the authors of the study said.

The researchers followed the patients for three years, and found that, compared to the patients of the placebo group, those who took Victoza had a lower risk of heart attack or stroke.They also had a lower 22 percent death from death due to heart disease, a 15 percent lower risk for any cause, and a lower 22 percent risk to present new evidence of advanced renal disease.

Some patients discontinued the drug due to "gastrointestinal events," according to the report.

The study was presented on June 13 at the annual meeting of the American Diabetes Association (American Diabetes Association), in New Orleans.It was also published simultaneously in New England Journal of Medicine magazine.

"I have been excited with the Liraglutida for a long time, because I think it is unique," said the main author of the study, Dr. John Buse, director of the Diabetes Care Center of the University of North Carolina, in Chapel Hill.

"This is the first diabetes medicine that has shown global benefits in cardiovascular diseaseTo the stroke, "Buso said in a university press release.

An expert in diabetes said the study is "encouraging."

Victoza "is a relatively new medicine, which is managed through a daily injection," said Dr. Allison Reiss, director of the Inflammation Laboratory of the Hospital of the University of Winthrop in Mineola, New York.

But the long -term effectiveness of the drug is not unknown, Reiss added."It will be important to follow these patients over the next few years to see if the benefits [of Victaza] continue, and to investigate how it works," he said.

The researchers explained that Victoza belongs to a more recent class of diabetes medicines known as GLP-1 agonists.These medications work in the pancreas to reduce the production of a hormone against insulin called glucagon.Drugs encourage insulin production and help control blood sugar levels.

As a secondary mechanism, Victoza also works in the brain to help reduce appetite and increase the feeling of "satiety" when eating, the bus team explained.

Reiss noted that due to this activity, Victaza can help boost weight loss, and that this could be the main factor that motivates improvements in heart health.

Dr. Gerald Bernstein, which coordinates the Friedman Diabetes program of the Lenox Hill Hospital, in New York City, said that Victoza (and other medications in its class) is increasingly used, so that "a reduction in theCardiovascular risk is an important finding. "

Type 2 diabetes affects more than 29 million Americans, according to centers for control and prevention ofDiseases (CDC) of the USA.

Article by Healthday