Monday 20 June 2022 10:28 PM Experimental drug developed in Sweden may revolutionise four million Britons' ... trends now
View
comments
A new type of drug that triggers the body's muscles to soak up excess blood sugar could revolutionise the treatment of type 2 diabetes.
The experimental drug, code-named ATR-258, is the first medication to work by directly moving sugar from the blood and into the muscles. Developed in Sweden, it's been successful in animal studies and is now being trialled in patients.
There are around four million people in the UK diagnosed with diabetes — the majority have type 2. This occurs either because the body doesn't produce enough of the hormone insulin (which helps muscles to mop up excess sugar from the blood) or because muscle cells don't respond to insulin very well.
There are around four million people in the UK diagnosed with diabetes — the majority have type 2 (File image)
As a result, sugar (glucose) builds up in the blood — this can eventually damage cells and nerves, potentially leading to eye problems, heart disease and stroke.
In type 1 diabetes, usually diagnosed in childhood, the body does not make any insulin because the immune system attacks and destroys pancreas cells that produce it. People with type 1 diabetes need to take insulin daily. Nine out of ten people with
