Sotagliflozin protects heart and kidney health in people with diabetes
A recent clinical study showed that sotagliflozin protects the heart and kidneys in patients with type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease.
The study, conducted by researchers at the University of Toronto in Canada, was presented at Kidney Week at the American Society of Nephrology in Philadelphia, USA, and was reported on the York Alert website in early November.
According to the World Health Organization, diabetes is a chronic disease that affects people due to insufficient secretion of insulin or the body’s inability to effectively process the insulin that is secreted.
Insulin is a hormone secreted by the body that regulates blood sugar. If diabetes is not controlled, blood sugar will rise. If blood sugar levels continue to rise, patients may develop a range of serious health problems that affect various systems in the body. Especially those related to nerves and blood vessels.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the most common health problems that diabetes can cause include heart disease, chronic kidney disease, nerve damage and vision problems.
Type 2 diabetes affects how the body uses insulin, and when the body stops using insulin appropriately, it can lead to high blood sugar if left untreated.
Factors that lead to type 2 diabetes include being overweight, inactive and genetic factors.
How does sogliflozin work?
Sotagliflozin belongs to the sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitor drug family, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Sotagliflozin lowers blood sugar by causing the kidneys to remove sugar from the body through urine.
The researchers analyzed data from a study called SCORD, which included 10,000 patients with type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease and risk factors for heart disease.
Participants were randomized into two groups, one receiving sotagliflozin or a placebo, and patients were followed for an average of 16 months.
Researchers found that sotagliflozin reduced the incidence of reduced glomerular filtration rate in the kidneys by more than 50% and reduced patients’ need for dialysis or kidney transplantation by approximately 38%.
The glomerular filtration rate measures the amount of blood filtered by the kidneys per minute. The measurement is recorded in milliliters per minute (ml/min). The lower the glomerular filtration rate, the lower the level of kidney function.
Sotagliflozin also reduced the incidence of heart or kidney-related death by 23%.
Prevent heart failure
In turn, lead researcher Dr. David Cherney noted that the findings are consistent with previously documented benefits of sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors in patients with diabetes and risk factors for diabetes. heart disease.
This benefit is in addition to sogliflozin’s known benefits in preventing heart failure and ischemia-related problems, such as myocardial infarction and stroke.
Dr. Cherny also pointed out that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the use of the drug, which in addition to being widely used in patients with heart failure and chronic kidney disease, can also reduce the incidence of death from heart failure and cardiovascular disease. .
