New Study Aims to Understand Long-term Effects of Diabetes Medications

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is looking for volunteers to take part in a study to compare the long-term benefits of four widely used diabetes drugs in combination with metformin, the most common first-line medication for treating type 2 diabetes. The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) launched the Glycemia Reduction Approaches in Diabetes: A Comparative Effectiveness Study (GRADE) in June 2013. The researchers hope to recruit 5,000 participants at 37 sites. The goal of this large trial is to understand which combinations of medications are most likely to maintain goal glucose (blood sugar) levels over time, to identify the most effective means of treating type 2 diabetes if metformin alone is not enough. The study will compare drug effects on glucose levels, adverse effects, diabetes complications, and quality of life over an average of nearly 5 years. The researchers hope to be better able to guide physicians as they make treatment decisions for their patients with diabetes.

Large NIH Study to Examine if Vitamin D Prevents Type 2 Diabetes

Researchers have begun the first definitive, large-scale clinical trial to investigate if a vitamin D supplement helps prevent or delay type 2 diabetes in adults who have prediabetes, a condition that puts them at risk for developing type 2. The multiyear Vitamin D and Type 2 Diabetes (D2d) study  will include about 2,500 people at 20 study sites across the United States. Its goal is to learn if vitamin D—specifically D3 (cholecalciferol)—will prevent or delay type 2 diabetes in adults age 30 or older with prediabetes. People with prediabetes have blood glucose levels that are higher than normal but not high enough to be called diabetes. Researchers are recruiting volunteers to take part in D2d. Half of the participants will receive vitamin D. The other half will receive a placebo—a pill that contains no medication. Participants will have check-ups for the study twice a year, and will receive regular health care through their own health care providers. “An estimated 79 million Americans have prediabetes, and nearly 26 million more have diabetes,” said NIDDK Director Griffin P. Rodgers, M.D., M.A.C.P. “With D2d, we seek evidence for an affordable and accessible way to help prevent or delay type 2 diabetes.”

New and Updated Publications

• Gestational Diabetes: What You Need to Know
• Prevent diabetes problems: Keep your kidneys healthy
• Prevent diabetes problems: Keep your kidneys healthy (Spanish)
• What I need to know about Gestational Diabetes
• What I need to know about Gestational Diabetes (Spanish)
• What I need to know about Preparing for Pregnancy if I Have Diabetes