A University of Minnesota study showed that a low-cost, readily available drug can have a beneficial effect on the pancreas of children with newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes.
Results of a clinical trial found that verapamil, taken orally once daily, improved pancreatic insulin secretion by 30% during the first year after a diagnosis of type 1 diabetes when compared to a control group that received treatment. imaginary.
Verapamil is a drug commonly used to treat high blood pressure and heart disease.
“The beneficial effect of verapamil observed in the trial is very exciting,” said Antoinette Morin, the study’s principal investigator and professor at the University of Minnesota Medical School, adding, “Although we don’t know whether the beneficial effect of verapamil on pancreatic insulin secretion will persist once it is discontinued.” Treatment at 12 months, we know that better pancreatic function in the first year is associated with better long-term outcomes in type 1 diabetes.”
The results of the study were published in the journal JAMA.
The University of Minnesota was one of six pediatric diabetes centers in the United States that participated in the study.
The trial included 88 children ages 8 to 17 who started the trial within 31 days of being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. Participants were monitored for known side effects of verapamil, including effects on heart, blood pressure, and liver function. The study found that verapamil was well tolerated and very few of these side effects occurred.
In addition to evaluating verapamil, the trial also assessed whether an intensive glucose management approach, which involves using an automated insulin delivery system to try to get glucose levels as close to normal as possible, could have a beneficial effect on insulin secretion in the pancreas.
As reported in a companion paper in the journal JAMA, this treatment achieved significantly better glucose levels compared to standard care that included the use of continuous glucose monitoring. The achieved glucose levels could have long term benefits in reducing the complications of diabetes.
“The fact that verapamil is low-cost, readily available, once-daily oral administration, and has a very favorable safety profile makes it a very attractive treatment for children and adults diagnosed with type 1 diabetes,” explained Dr. Moran.
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