New Delhi, Feb 15 (NationPress) A group of researchers, including a prominent scientist of Indian descent, has discovered that a medication recently sanctioned by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for managing type 2 diabetes may also help in diminishing the occurrence of heart attacks and strokes.

The global clinical trial, which encompassed over 10,000 participants, revealed that the drug Sotagliflozin, which is also recognized for treating kidney conditions, can effectively lower the cardiovascular risks for these individuals.

Sotagliflozin functions as a sodium-glucose cotransporter (SGLT) inhibitor. It inhibits the activity of two proteins, designated as SGLT1 and SGLT2, that facilitate the transport of glucose and sodium across cell membranes, thereby assisting in the regulation of blood sugar levels. Unlike other SGLT2 inhibitors, this drug significantly impedes SGLT1.

“These findings unveil a novel action mechanism -- the combined inhibition of SGLT1 receptors (located in the kidney, gut, heart, and brain) and SGLT2 receptors (located in the kidney) by sotagliflozin -- which contributes to a decrease in the risk of heart attacks and strokes,” articulated Deepak L. Bhatt, Director of Mount Sinai Fuster Heart Hospital and Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, US.

“The advantages observed here are separate from those associated with the other commonly used SGLT2 inhibitors for diabetes, heart failure, and kidney issues,” Bhatt noted.

The randomized, multicenter trial involved 10,584 patients suffering from chronic kidney disease, type 2 diabetes, and additional cardiovascular risk factors; it evaluated the efficacy of sotagliflozin in mitigating life-threatening cardiovascular outcomes. Participants were monitored for an average duration of 16 months.

The findings, published in The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology, indicated that those in the sotagliflozin group experienced a 23 percent reduction in the incidence of heart attacks, strokes, and fatalities resulting from cardiovascular complications compared to the placebo cohort.

Bhatt stated that sotagliflozin was authorized to lower the likelihood of deaths due to cardiovascular issues, hospitalizations for heart failure, and urgent heart failure interventions for individuals with heart failure or type 2 diabetes, chronic kidney disease, and other cardiovascular risk elements.

“The latest data reveal that it also minimizes the risk of heart attacks and strokes, potentially leading to broader usage in clinical practice.”