Another Hormone To Consider
The News:
Lexicon, a pharmaceutical company in Texas, has received funding for a phase II clinical trial to test the efficacy of a new medication that may help control blood glucose in T1D.
What This Means for the T1D Community:
The notion of treating type 1 with more than just insulin fascinates me. In the “regular” population, insulin is one of many hormones–glucagon and amilyn being the other big players–that control blood glucose.
Standard treatment for T1D has been to use insulin alone because this is relatively effective and does the basic job–that is, to unlock the cells and allow glucose to enter them, thereby keeping the person alive.
What interests me, though, are other hormones that help balance blood sugar. Like glucagon, which acts as a natural sort of “antidote” when there is too much insulin in the bloodstream. Or amilyn, which helps slow the rate at which blood glucose is released into the system by slowing the rate at which the stomach is emptied.
There are synthetic versions of both of these hormones. You all know glucagon–the alarming syringe and powder, red-plastic-encased emergency kits we all should have stashed around for sever low blood sugar episodes. Some people have even had success in using glucagon to treat lows that are not severe. There are plans to incorporate both glucagon and amilyn in the multi-hormone later-stage artificial pancreas.
What Lexicon is hoping to do now, though, is prove that another hormone might be useful in treating T1D.
Here’s the scoop according to MarketWatch: “LX4211, a dual inhibitor of sodium glucose transporter 1 and 2 (SGLT1 and SGLT2), was designed to improve control of blood glucose through mechanisms that do not require the pancreas to produce insulin.”
I don’t know what a “sodium glucose transporter” is. I do know that Lexicon’s trial, a double-blind, randomized trial with placebo, sounds pretty darn legit.
Also, the fact that this medication has already proven effective in the treatment of type 2 diabetes means it might be to market sooner rather than later.
As you all know, I love proof that smart people are working all the different angles to better treat this disease. I’d never heard of LX4211 or SGLT1 or 2. But I’m pleased to know about them now.
If You Want to Read More:
Lexicon’s Press Release >