Robin Goland, professor of clinical medicine and pediatrics at Columbia University in New York City, told the CBS Evening News.
"Two drugs right off the bat, that's an important finding," Dr. The odds were a little better for the group that took two drugs but not much different for those in the lifestyle group. Drug companies donated the medications.Īfter almost four years, half the teens in the metformin group failed to maintain blood sugar control.
All had their blood sugar normalized with metformin, then were given one of three treatments to try to maintain that control: metformin alone, metformin plus diet and exercise counseling, or metformin plus a second drug, Avandia. Researchers looked at 699 overweight and obese teens recently diagnosed with diabetes. The new study sought to find out: What's the best way for teens to keep diabetes in check? "Trust me, I'm working on it," said the 19-year-old who lives in Commerce, Calif. She has to remember to watch her diet and set aside time to exercise.
Judith Garcia still struggles to manage her diabetes with metformin and insulin years after taking part in the study at Children's Hospital Los Angeles. The longer blood sugar runs rampant, the greater the risk of suffering vision loss, nerve damage, kidney failure, limb amputation, heart attacks and strokes. If it still can't be controlled, other drugs and daily insulin shots may be needed. Doctors typically start treating type 2 diabetes with metformin, a pill to lower blood sugar. Earlier studies mostly have looked at adults, and most diabetes drugs aren't even approved for youths.
The NIH-funded study is the largest look yet at how to treat diabetes in teens. The results spell trouble for a nation facing rising rates of "diabesity" - Type 2 diabetes brought on by obesity. A major study published in the April 29 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine tested several ways to manage blood sugar in overweight and obese teens newly diagnosed with diabetes and found that nearly half of them failed within a few years and one in five suffered serious complications.