Dr. Miriam Stoppard: A Wonder Diabetes Medicine Could Be Essential To Treating Heart Failure – Miriam Stoppard

Many drug discoveries occur almost by accident or by accidental observation. Think about penicillin and insulin.

And now, the first drug that would prolong the survival of people with type 2 diabetes could also help treat heart failure.

It exerts a stimulating action on the tired heart muscle, making it more efficient by creating more energy and giving it a new breath.

True, US research is focused on animal models, but the news that empagliflozin (EPG) can reverse the worsening of heart failure is surprising.

"This drug could be a promising treatment for heart failure in non-diabetic and diabetic patients," said lead author of the study, Juan Badimon, a professor of cardiology at Mount Sinai School. of Medicine in New York.

"Our research can lead to potential application in humans, save lives and improve the quality of life."

People with diabetes have a higher risk of heart failure, but in previous studies of the PGA, it was noted that patients did not develop heart failure.

The researchers therefore asked the doctors if the drug alleviated heart failure regardless of its antidiabetic activity.

And, more importantly, could it have the same proactive effect on people without diabetes?

To answer these questions, the team evaluated two groups of pigs with heart failure, one on EPG, the other on a placebo.

After two months, all animals in the EPG-treated group had improved cardiac function.

Specifically, they have less accumulation of water in the lungs – which means less lung congestion, responsible for shortness of breath in human patients – and less biomarkers of inadequacy heart.

It is important to note that the left ventricle (the main pumping chamber of the heart) had stronger contractions, became smaller, was less stressed and was less thick (a sign of heart failure healing) and the heart also had a normal shape.

In addition, the researchers found that the drug appeared to have a double action. It has not only improved heart failure but also the metabolism of the heart muscle.

The hearts of pigs using this drug used more fatty acids and ketones, but less glucose to create energy, as opposed to patients with heart failure (diabetic and nondiabetic), whose heart uses more glucose and almost no fatty acids. As a result, they produce less energy for pumping.

It is the stimulant of cardiac metabolism that helps the heart to produce more energy and function more efficiently.

The authors are currently expanding their research to determine whether EPG is an effective treatment for heart failure in non-diabetic patients.

It would be a huge step forward.