According to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, medication that is prescribed to control Type 2 diabetes and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease is not as effective as people think.
The study was unveiled at the annual meeting of American cardiologists in Atlanta. It demonstrated that the drugs had no major impact.
"The best treatment against diabetes is regular exercise and healthy eating," says Professor Rurt Holman of Oxford University.
Another study highlights the fact that the diabetes drug Starlix does not slow down the disease’s progression.
Furthermore, another study led by Dr. Henry Ginsberg of Columbia University shows that mixing fibrate to increase good cholesterol with the traditional treatment of reducing bad cholesterol with statins does not diminish the risk of heart attack or stroke.
The study took place over five years and everyone showed the same level of risk at the end regardless of the treatment received.
Type 2 diabetes affects approximately two million people and this number could double within 20 years. In all diabetes cases, nine out of ten are Type 2. In Canada, an estimated 60,000 new cases are diagnosed each year.