FDA okays new diabetes pill, Tradjenta

AP

(CBS/AP) Got diabetes? You should know that the FDA just approved a new pill for diabetics who can't control their blood sugar with other medicines.

The agency said Monday it approved Tradjenta tablets for type 2 diabetes, the most common form of the disease. It affects up to 95 percent of the 24 million Americans with diabetes.

People with the disease have trouble breaking down sugars in their bloodstream, because their bodies are resistant to the protein insulin. They are at high risk for serious problems, including heart attacks, kidney problems, and blindness.

The drug - from Boehringer Ingelheim and Eli Lilly - works by blocking an enzyme, releasing insulin-boosting hormones that help curb blood sugar levels. Merck and Bristol-Myers Squibb already market similar drugs.

The FDA approved the Tradjenta (linagliptin) as a stand-alone treatment or in combination with older diabetes drugs like metformin. Many diabetes patients must combine drugs to manage their blood sugar levels.

The new drug's most common side effects are respiratory infection, sore throat, muscle pain and headache. Tradjenta will be distributed with a medication guide explaining the drug's risks to patients.

[Hadenoughuc]

another good one as long as they have 16 bad side effects there approved,,,,great

[jt92202]

It would be nice if the FDA would actually come out and say that sugar and high carb eating is actually the reason that Diabetes is running rampet across the globe!!! We need meds right now to help those that have Type 2 diabetes but real education for those that have not yet contracted it would be great!! When you go to the doctor and find out your Diabetic the first thing they tell you is cut the sugar and carbs out of your diet, if it's ok for diabetics not to eat that stuff then don't you think it would be a good thing for the rest of us not to eat! SUGAR is just another DRUG!!! Try removing it from your diet, you will go through withdrawls!!!

[Nate650]

Yep, though more specifically, refined carbs are the culprit, not complex carbs. For example, white wheat flour is a simple carb which is originally whole grain wheat flour that has been stripped of its nutrients via processing, and the only portion of the seed that remains is the nutrient-deficient starch. This works out for food companies since the nutrient-rich portions (the bran and germ) are then sold as animal feed or are used for other purposes.