GUY’S GOTTA TALK ABOUT…TYPE 2 DIABETES #47: Is There EVER Going To Be A CURE?

For the first time since I started this blog eleven years ago, it’s going to be about me. I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes four years ago. While people are happy to talk about their experiences with diabetes, I WASN’T comfortable with talking about diabetes. The “other Type” of diabetes was what caused the death of my Best Man a year after my wife and I got married. He was diagnosed with diabetes when he was a kid. It was called Juvenile Diabetes then. Today it’s Type 1. I haven’t WANTED to talk about diabetes at all. But…for my own education and maybe helping someone else, and not one to shut up for any known reason, I’m reopening my blog rather than starting a new one. I MAY take a pause and write about Breast Cancer or Alzheimer’s as medical headlines dictate; but this time I’m going to drag anyone along who wants to join my HIGHLY RELUCTANT journey toward better understanding of my life with Type 2 Diabetes. You’re Welcome to join me!

The simplest answer to my question above is a disappointing, "Nope."

Type 2 diabetes is the most common form of diabetes. It develops when the body becomes resistant to insulin. It often develops gradually and can go unnoticed for years. When people search for ways to "reverse diabetes," they're usually referring to Type 2 diabetes. While there's no cure, some people can achieve remission through weight loss, healthy lifestyle changes and medical treatment.”

While I’ll be the first to sigh in frustration after reading this bald-faced attempt to crush my hopes and dre…!!! Sorry…just a bit emotional on the subject.

In this column, long ago, I started following various developments in the research in learning to deal with a condition that is global in its presence and devastating in its impact. From the Wikipedia entry on Diabetes: “The number of people worldwide diagnosed as living with diabetes has increased sharply in recent decades, from 200 million in 1990 to 828 million in 2024. Diabetes accounts for some two million deaths each year, and more than half of those affected are unaware of their condition. It affects one in seven of the adult human population, with type 2 diabetes accounting for more than 95% of cases. These numbers have already risen beyond earlier projections of 783 million adults by 2045. The prevalence of the disease continues to increase, most dramatically in low-middle income nations, where it is now the seventh leading cause of death. Rates are similar in women and men. The global expenditure on diabetes-related healthcare is an estimated US$760 billion a year.” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diabetes)

Really??? Is there anything else that causes so many deaths each year? Most of us would LEAP to the erroneous conclusion that “MURDER AND WAR!!!! Man killing man is the OBVIOUS CAUSE OF MOST DEATH ON THIS BENIGHTED PLANET!!!!”

How erroneous is that conclusion?

Deaths by murder and war MUST be the primary cause of death on Earth!!!!! OH WOE, OH WOE! WOE ARE US!!!! HUMANS INFLICTING PAIN AND TERROR ON EACH OTHERS MUST BE THE SINGLE MOST…Ahem…cause “between 431,000 to 475,000 deaths/year”…

How about something a little more chilling than that? Total yearly deaths caused by US BEING STUPID TO OURSELVES aka Type 2 Diabetes, “The number of people worldwide diagnosed as living with diabetes has increased sharply in recent decades, from 200 million in 1990 to 828 million in 2024.[9] Diabetes accounts for some two million deaths each year, and more than half of those affected are unaware of their condition.[9] It affects one in seven of the adult human population, with type 2 diabetes accounting for more than 95% of cases. These numbers have already risen beyond earlier projections of 783 million adults by 2045.

Does that shock you as much as it shocked me? This is something I did to myself – by eating poorly, not bothering to exercise…and then when I was told WHAT was happening, I just kept on DOING it! Isn’t that the definition of insanity? (I wanted to track down this aphorism to see just WHERE it came from! Here you go: “Albert Einstein was one of the most significant scientific geniuses of the 20th century…He also contributed greatly to the philosophy of science. Is it any wonder, therefore, that the quote, ‘the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results’ is attributed to him? But…there’s no evidence he ever said it…The ‘definition of insanity’ quote first appeared in 1981, in a document published by Narcotics Anonymous. It was a sort of guide book for addicts who trying to overcome their disease, and it warned its readers that, ‘insanity is repeating the same mistakes and expecting different results…’.”

So, as of today, there is no “miracle cure” to Type 2 (or even Type 1 – which is no one’s fault but genetic mutation…) Might there be in the future? I take the long view that would grant that an answer of, “Yes. We will cure Diabetes 1 AND 2 someday!” But that won’t be tomorrow and until then, I have to keep on working on my own habits and lifestyles and reporting on promising research, procedures, and methodologies.

Source: https://www.emoryhealthcare.org/stories/wellness/5-ways-to-reduce-or-even-reverse-diabetes , https://professorbuzzkill.com/2017/05/29/einstein-insanity-qnq/
Image: https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41J0VUNJ8ML._SY445_SX342_QL70_FMwebp_.jpg

DIABETES RESEARCH RIGHT NOW! #47: Fighting Type 2 Diabetes With BROWN FAT!!!

From the first moment I discovered I had been diagnosed with DIABETES, I joined a HUGE “club” that has been rapidly expanding since it stopped being a death sentence in the early 20th Century. Currently, there are about HALF A BILLION PEOPLE who have Type 2 Diabetes. For the past 3500 years – dating back to Ancient Egypt – people have suffered from diabetes. Well, I’m one of them now… Not one to shut up for any known reason, I added a section to this blog…Every month, I’ll be highlighting Diabetes research that is going on RIGHT NOW! Harvested from different websites, journals and podcasts, I’ll translate them into understandable English and share them with you. Today: Type 2 and Brown Fat???!!! The HECK???

So, let’s talk about “brown fat”.

“Brown WHAT???” my best friend screams at me.

“Brown fat…”

He cuts me off before I can explain. So, putting a symbolic sock in his mouth, tying him up, and propping them up on the couch under 150 pounds of Pyrenean Mountain Dog in his lap, licking his face with a tongue as wide as my hand, I begin in lecture mode: “Brown fat burns energy instead of storing it. Because it burns calories to make heat, researchers are studying it to see how it might help with metabolism and weight management.”

Dr. Greg J. Morton found that these cells use large amounts of glucose to drive this heat production, thus serving as a potential way to lower blood sugar, a key goal for any diabetes treatment. Dr. Morton is working to understand what role the brain plays in turning these brown fat cells on and off.”

OK – I have brown fat. Everyone does. The difference is that brown fat actually generates heat instead of storing heat. WHITE fat CAN be used to generate heat. Adult humans have more white fat than brown fat. White adipose tissue (aka FLAB) dominates the body's energy storage, representing nearly all of standard below-the-skin and external (like my fat belly and flabby lower arms, and double chin) deposits.

Why the difference? Newborns have about 2% to 5% of total body weight as brown fat because babies can’t shiver yet, and shivering generates heat. When they reach the teen years, brown fat naturally decreases as a person grows, until at adulthood, a person has between 0.02 and 300 grams total though some specialized imaging studies estimate brown and beige fat combined may represent up to roughly 10% of total fat depending on cold exposure and individual genetics.

OK – now we know WHY fat is important and there’s a difference between storing white fat (in case I get marooned on Iceland in the middle of winter) and I weight like five pounds and get chilled on a warm summer day) – and I don’t have to shiver like a baby just to stay warm on a warm summer day using – the brown fat!

Research needs to be done on the “Brown Adipose T (BAT)-batokine axis.”!

“In Type 2, this BAT-batokine activity is downregulated which promotes insulin resistance!! It needs to be stimulated. We need to break this circle through new therapies that INCREASE BAT-batokine activity and improve glucose and fat regulation but also have potential for organ-specific therapeutic benefits, including in the heart, lung, kidney, and liver. This would also reduce white fat deposits while preserving or even increasing muscle mass and function due to the therapeutic effects being independent of negative energy balance.

The BAT-batokine axis has finally come of age. Such new therapies would help to lower obesity and multiple other chronic conditions. Rather than JUST weight loss or improving the control of blood sugars, the therapies might create a variety of holistic therapeutic benefits not just in treating diabetes, but on key organs essential for metabolic efficiency and flexibility.”

Who knows WHAT’S JUST AROUND THE CORNER?

Links: https://diabetes.org/research/type-2-diabetes-research-glance,
https://joslin.org/news-stories/all-news-stories/news/2026/04/study-uncovers-3d-dna-switch-in-brown-fat, https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/endocrinology/articles/10.3389/fendo.2026.1949288/full, https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9165237/ 

Image: https://asploro.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Diabetes-Research_Open-Access.jpg

GUY’S GOTTA TALK ABOUT…TYPE 2 DIABETES #46: Growing Old With Type 2…

For the first time since I started this blog eleven years ago, it’s going to be about me. I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes four years ago. While people are happy to talk about their experiences with diabetes, I WASN’T comfortable with talking about diabetes. The “other Type” of diabetes was what caused the death of my Best Man a year after my wife and I got married. He was diagnosed with diabetes when he was a kid. It was called Juvenile Diabetes then. Today it’s Type 1. I haven’t WANTED to talk about diabetes at all. But…for my own education and maybe helping someone else, and not one to shut up for any known reason, I’m reopening my blog rather than starting a new one. I MAY take a pause and write about Breast Cancer or Alzheimer’s as medical headlines dictate; but this time I’m going to drag anyone along who wants to join my HIGHLY RELUCTANT journey toward better understanding of my life with Type 2 Diabetes. You’re Welcome to join me!

I suppose a few years ago, I’d have ignored the article below, “Managing Type 2 Diabetes in Your 70s: A Complete Guide”…but next May, I’ll be turning 70…

 So, this article caught my attention. The author wrote, “Over 25% of Americans aged 65 and older have diabetes, making it one of the most common chronic conditions among seniors.”

That’s a pretty sterile, statistic kind of thing. I’m looking for something I can “work with”, so I’m framing it this way, “If you’re at a birthday part and there are a 100 people in the room, one out of every four of them are going to be Type 2 diabetics.” Now, if it’s a BIRTHDAY party, then you’ll have variously-aged grandchildren (possibly even a few great-grandchildren.) You’ll also have the parents – none of whom are going to be 70+)…so let’s take your group of 100, drop it to 50 people (minus 20 grandkids, and maybe another 30 kids…). Of THAT fifty, you’ve got one in four are T2, so 13 or so will be T2 – 37 will be “normal”…of course, among THEM, you’ll have heart disease, joint replacement…most likely ALL (but a very few) will have glasses of some sort…

So, you’ve got a bunch of geezers whose bodies are falling apart. According to statistics, those of us born in the 1950s have a life expectancy of  “72.5 years for males and 78.5 years for females” [US Social Security Administration]. I assume that includes everyone and so your healthcare and personal choices during your 70-something years of life will modify those numbers – and also if you’ve treatments for various and sundry ailments with impact that life expectancy.

All right, there are the facts. Now, using this guide, what MIGHT I be doing to stretch that out a little farther…oh, WHY? My personal goal is to be alive for the weddings/joinings/significant event celebrations for all four of my (current) grandchildren who range in age from 1 year to 16 years.

What can I do to reach the significant  events of my 1-year-old granddaughter? Say…at 20 years to my current 70. My genetics seem likely to support that goal – as I neither drink nor smoke, and my main life-challenge thus far has been T2. The things the article recommends are NOT fancy pants stuff. It’s pretty straightforward stuff I can do even if I’m not a zillionaire.

I can name a few right off the top of my head:

Exercise: I bike regularly (when it’s NOT winter…here in Minnesota that is an admittedly narrow window…) the rest of the time, I walk. I don’t do any fancy exercising, just (at the height of summer bike between 10-20 miles a week.) During the winter, I walk (when the windchill is unlikely to freeze my skin solid) so let’s between 5-8 miles a week. I DO NOT have biking shorts or walking sticks or down jackets or a fancy bike. It’s all normal stuff.

My A1-c a couple weeks ago was 6.4; so no longer a concern to my doctor. I DO use Ozempic, but NOT for weight control, but for my diabetes; AND I only take it every OTHER week (after conversations with my doctor and reviewing preliminary research that supports the change for people whose blood sugars aren’t wildly out of synch.

 In conclusion? There isn’t a “conclusion” yet. I’m on a regularly monitored (by my doctor) schedule; and frequently read journal articles (I was a science teacher for 41 years. Everything but the DENSEST of “scientific-ese” is something I can parse) on Diabetes research; focusing particularly on T2, but also skimming T1 work as that findings from THERE might be usable down the road…plus, as you’ll know if you’ve read my initial posts, my best friend and best-man died after a diabetic seizure brought on by growing weary of taking care of himself and listening to everyone else’s concerns. He just got tired and his body gave out…

At any rate, I’ll be coming back to this and other articles in future posts!

Source: https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/diabetes/diabetes-older-people, https://allseniors.org/articles/managing-type-2-diabetes-in-your-70s-a-complete-guide/

Image: https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41J0VUNJ8ML._SY445_SX342_QL70_FMwebp_.jpg

DIABETES RESEARCH RIGHT NOW! #46 A Report On Dealing With Diabetes…

From the first moment I discovered I had been diagnosed with DIABETES, I joined a HUGE “club” that has been rapidly expanding since it stopped being a death sentence in the early 20th Century. Currently, there are about HALF A BILLION PEOPLE who have Type 2 Diabetes. For the past 3500 years – dating back to Ancient Egypt – people have suffered from diabetes. Well, I’m one of them now… Not one to shut up for any known reason, I added a section to this blog…Every month, I’ll be highlighting Diabetes research that is going on RIGHT NOW! Harvested from different websites, journals and podcasts, I’ll translate them into understandable English and share them with you. Today: A Report on DEALING with Diabetes. Coming from a professional past of being a school counselor; having a daughter who is a mental health therapist; having a wife and son and friends and relatives who deal with depression, anxiety, and even anger…YOU’D THINK I COULD DEAL WITH MY OWN ISSUES BETTER…

You’d actually be wrong…

I DO have trouble being a Type 2 Diabetic.

I HAVE made progress.

My introduction to diabetes came from an old friend of mine who had (what was then called) Juvenile Onset Diabetes. It’s called Type 1 today. He was a bit younger than me, but we got close and shared lots of frustrations, joys, and A LOT OF LAUGHTER. He was funny and could make me laugh. I was funny enough to make HIM laugh. We were close enough that he was eventually the Best Man in Liz’ and my wedding almost 40 years-ago.

A year later, he died. He suffocated when he got lodged sideways in his and his wife’s water bed after having a diabetic seizure. He’d managed to get himself twisted around between the bag and the sides of the bed (it was an old-fashioned “sack of water” bed so that the bag covered his face…I clearly remember the phone call from his wife. Our first-born was pretty close to newborn; we were living in a crappy half-underground apartment that had a GREAT view of the knees-down-to-the-tennis-shoes of anyone walking past our apartment building.

“Greg died,” she said.

As details came out, I became even MORE terrified of diabetes than I was before that.

Ten-or-so-years-ago, I was diagnosed as a Type 2 diabetic. I ignored it at first, but because I was married and had two kids, two in-laws, and three grandchildren. I had a career I was enjoying with prestige, making contributions to society, and feeling like I was making a difference in the lives of the kids I worked with. Retired now, both my wife and I are type 2 diabetics…and there I go again, “identifying myself by my condition”.

That’s probably been the HARDEST part of this whole journey. I AM NOT MY TYPE 2 DIABETES! But I still fall into that whole idea that I AM my diabetes. It’s something I can’t seem to shake for more than a day or two. I let myself be defined by it…don’t get me wrong, I am acutely aware of (and now accustomed to) some of the limitations Type 2 places on me, particularly in what I can and can’t eat…like I can’t have a DQ Peanut buster parfait every day! I can’t eat a bag of chocolate chip cookies in one sitting. I can’t ignore exercising (at least not ALL the time). I can’t dread doing calisthenics (though I REFUSE to do them by either biking every-other-day (spring through fall) or walking every-other-day (winter…which in Minnesota is October through March/April). So…I HAVE altered my behaviors and turned the adaptations into things I don’t MIND doing. I don’t eat exactly the same as I did as a teenager or young adult…but I can still eat most things – as long as I don’t gorge on them or have them every day.

Have I allowed my Type 2 to identify me? Hmmm…yes, to a certain degree. Am I more cautious about what I eat, how much, and how often? Yes, that’s for certain. Am I miserable?

Hmmm…I’m NOT carefree anymore. But that didn’t answer the question. I’m NOT miserable! My weight is reasonable (Shortly after I was diagnosed Type 2, I weighed in at something around 23 pounds, and my blood sugar was 189 (with an occasional foray into the 200’s). As of this morning, I weighed in at 228.6 and my blood sugar was 141 (often below that…)…

Have I died? Well, aside from the fact that I’ll be 70 years old next May, I feel fine! And by making SOME changes and creating new habits, I’ve managed to get my blood sugars (and blood pressure and weight) under better control than it was BEFORE the effort. Oh, I’m MUCH happier about my prospects in life! (The goal now is to see ALL FOUR of my grandchildren married!

…so there you go…

Links: https://diabetes.org/health-wellness/mental-health

Image: https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41J0VUNJ8ML._SY445_SX342_QL70_FMwebp_.jpg

GUY’S GOTTA TALK ABOUT…TYPE 2 DIABETES #45: The Future Of Type 2 Diabetes IN ME…

For the first time since I started this blog eleven years ago, it’s going to be about me. I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes four years ago. While people are happy to talk about their experiences with diabetes, I WASN’T comfortable with talking about diabetes. The “other Type” of diabetes was what caused the death of my Best Man a year after my wife and I got married. He was diagnosed with diabetes when he was a kid. It was called Juvenile Diabetes then. Today it’s Type 1. I haven’t WANTED to talk about diabetes at all. But…for my own education and maybe helping someone else, and not one to shut up for any known reason, I’m reopening my blog rather than starting a new one. I MAY take a pause and write about Breast Cancer or Alzheimer’s as medical headlines dictate; but this time I’m going to drag anyone along who wants to join my HIGHLY RELUCTANT journey toward better understanding of my life with Type 2 Diabetes. You’re Welcome to join me!

I’m not going to be talking about how “DISCOVERIES IN TREATING TYPING 2 DIABTETES ARE GOING TO ROCK YOUR WORLD!!!!”

I’m talking about changes I can make in myself that can alter my Type 2 Diabetes. While not one of them is something you haven’t heard of or thought of at one time or another, they ALL bear repeating, because I get tired trying to remember all of the “the tricks” I need to play on myself to convince me that my blood sugars ARE NORMAL. They are NOT NORMAL! (NOTE: I avoided saying that somehow I’m “Not normal”, while realistically, “Type 2 diabetes affects approximately 10% to 11% of the total U.S. population, as type 2 diabetes makes up 90% to 95% of all total diabetes cases.” (https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/about/about-type-2-diabetes.html).

So STATISTICALLY, I AM NOT NORMAL. I need to make MORE of an effort to drag my rotten habits back into what would be considered “normal” – in other words: not taking several medications to keep my blood pressure and blood sugars in what my doctor considers "normal” – though less NORMAL than HEALTHY…for me. I’ve known my doctor for several years and we have a good relationship…firstly because, as a science teacher, I spent over fifty years being indoctrinated into recording DATA and reporting it AND using it to prove or refute whatever it was I was testing. I have sheets where I not ONLY record my BP and sugars – but what TIME, where, how, as well as averaging three blood pressures instead of just writing down one, and doing it every day. I hand the sheets to him every visit. Being a one-time-“biology major” before he ever became a doctor; and me being the same before I became a science teacher – I know what’s significant.

Now, does that mean I’m doing everything RIGHT?

Duh. No. It does NOT. It means I can not only report on my behaviors and trends; but I can actually UNDERSTAND what I’m doing wrong. While this isn’t a “silver bullet” I can out in the head/heart of the figurative “vampire of Type 2 diabetes”, I CAN monitor myself and he can make suggestions – while pointing to the evidence that my behaviors affect my health! So, I HAVE lost weight since I started keeping daily records. When I started, I weighed in at a hefty 253 lbs…today (literally this morning), I weighed in at 220.0 lbs.

It’s NOT magic – it’s AWARENESS. The data was clear: I had to become more active…which is, I’m sad to say, a continual push and pull. For example, my phone-steps-exercise application (STRAVA) now that I’ve learned to take it with me and turn it on and off -- tells me in painstaking detail how many steps I take or miles I bike; and annoyingly when I DON’T do anything.

I try to limit how often I get a DQ each week…lately, it’s been about once every two or three weeks. Then I DO make sure to bike the next day – I know it’s more like shutting the barn door after the horses have gotten. Don’t mistake me doing this as me ENJOYING EXCERCISING AND DIETING! It’s not.

It comes down to this simple desire: I want to see all four of my grandchildren walk down the aisle if they choose to get married. My chances are SMALLER if I do whatever I want with my weight and my health…so I watch my eating and I exercise. And you know what, KNOWING that I’m doing SOMETHING to see those future weddings...which are approaching possibility faster and faster every day! My oldest grandkid is now 16; (and driving…but that’s an entirely different fear!), next it 14; third is 7; youngest is just over a year.

Source: Personal Reflection

Image: https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41J0VUNJ8ML._SY445_SX342_QL70_FMwebp_.jpg

DIABETES RESEARCH RIGHT NOW! #45: NEW Type 2 Diabetes Management Trial Drugs Reasonably Successful!

From the first moment I discovered I had been diagnosed with DIABETES, I joined a HUGE “club” that has been rapidly expanding since it stopped being a death sentence in the early 20th Century. Currently, there are about HALF A BILLION PEOPLE who have Type 2 Diabetes. For the past 3500 years – dating back to Ancient Egypt – people have suffered from diabetes. Well, I’m one of them now… Not one to shut up for any known reason, I added a section to this blog…Every month, I’ll be highlighting Diabetes research that is going on RIGHT NOW! Harvested from different websites, journals and podcasts, I’ll translate them into understandable English and share them with you.

Today: Elecoglipron, an oral small molecule GLP-1 receptor agonist in adults with type 2 diabetes. It’s an oral, small molecule glucagon-like peptide (GLP)-1 receptor agonist currently in development for the management of type 2 diabetes. Elecoglipron is orally administered once daily with no food or fluid restrictions. This phase 2b study, evaluated the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of elecoglipron versus placebo in participants with type 2 diabetes.

They screened the American participants to be 18 or older with a BMI of 23 kg/m2 (five feet to six-two and between 118 pounds to 180 or higher and all diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.

They needed an A1c between 7·0 and 10·5 managed with diet and exercise alone or monotherapy with metformin or an SGLT2 inhibitor were enrolled.

Participants were randomly assigned to elecoglipron as oral once-daily tablets that would stay the same the entire experiment. They also included three different dose-escalation regimens.

The daily dose of 50 mg was evaluated using an every 2-week dose-escalation schedule. The 75 mg was assessed with every 2-week or every 4-week dose-escalation schedules.

Other participants would act as controls, randomly assigned to placebo matched to each of the elecoglipron groups. Other would take standard oral drugs like Metformin (Glucophage, Glumetza, Riome); Ozempic/Rybelsus, Trulicity, or Victoza; Mounjaro; Jardiance, Farxiga, Invokana; Januvia, Tradjenta, Onglyza; Glipizide, Glimepiride, Diabeta; Actos; or Avandia.

The goal was to change their HbA1c from what they started with. Efficacy, safety, and tolerability were assessed in all participants who received at least one dose of trial treatment.

From Oct 8, 2024, to June 6, 2025, 863 individuals were screened and 406 were enrolled and randomly assigned to one of the eight treatment groups, and 404 participants received at least one dose of trial treatment.

Among those who received at least one dose of trial treatment, on average they were 58·4 years with HbA1c of 7·9%; weight of 220 pounds’; with a BMI 34·9 (mild or low-risk obesity)

Of the 404:

168 were female
236 male
280 (69%) were White
124 (31%) were not White

After 26 weeks

HbA1c fell by .91% and 1·88% compared to the control group which only fell by .15%

Adverse events were reported by 63% to 87% of participants depending on how fast their dosages were increased. (However, even in the control group, 63% reported adverse events.) These events included nausea, constipation, diarrhea, and vomiting.

Interpretation

Once-daily oral elecoglipron showed reductions in glycaemia and a safety and tolerability profile consistent with the GLP-1 receptor agonist class at a similar dosage.

So…there MAY be a new medication to help us deal with Type 2!

To compare with the effectiveness of Metformin, Jardiance, Ozempic, Glucophage, Glucotrol, and Lantis, link here: https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/two-popular-diabetes-drugs-outperformed-others-large-clinical-trial

LATER, folks!

Article Links: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(26)00802-0/abstract

Image: DIABETES RESEARCH RIGHT NOW! #45: NEW Type 2 Diabetes Management Trial Drugs Reasonably Successful!

From the first moment I discovered I had been diagnosed with DIABETES, I joined a HUGE “club” that has been rapidly expanding since it stopped being a death sentence in the early 20th Century. Currently, there are about HALF A BILLION PEOPLE who have Type 2 Diabetes. For the past 3500 years – dating back to Ancient Egypt – people have suffered from diabetes. Well, I’m one of them now… Not one to shut up for any known reason, I added a section to this blog…Every month, I’ll be highlighting Diabetes research that is going on RIGHT NOW! Harvested from different websites, journals and podcasts, I’ll translate them into understandable English and share them with you.

Today: Elecoglipron, an oral small molecule GLP-1 receptor agonist in adults with type 2 diabetes. It’s an oral, small molecule glucagon-like peptide (GLP)-1 receptor agonist currently in development for the management of type 2 diabetes. Elecoglipron is orally administered once daily with no food or fluid restrictions. This phase 2b study, evaluated the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of elecoglipron versus placebo in participants with type 2 diabetes.

 They screened the American participants to be 18 or older with a BMI of 23 kg/m2 (five feet to six-two and between 118 pounds to 180 or higher and all diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.

They needed an A1c between 7·0 and 10·5 managed with diet and exercise alone or monotherapy with metformin or an SGLT2 inhibitor were enrolled.

Participants were randomly assigned to elecoglipron as oral once-daily tablets that would stay the same the entire experiment. They also included three different dose-escalation regimens.

The daily dose of 50 mg was evaluated using an every 2-week dose-escalation schedule. The 75 mg was assessed with every 2-week or every 4-week dose-escalation schedules.

Other participants would act as controls, randomly assigned to placebo matched to each of the elecoglipron groups. Other would take standard oral drugs like Metformin (Glucophage, Glumetza, Riome); Ozempic/Rybelsus, Trulicity, or Victoza; Mounjaro; Jardiance, Farxiga, Invokana; Januvia, Tradjenta, Onglyza; Glipizide, Glimepiride, Diabeta; Actos; or Avandia.  

The goal was to change their HbA1c from what they started with. Efficacy, safety, and tolerability were assessed in all participants who received at least one dose of trial treatment.

From Oct 8, 2024, to June 6, 2025, 863 individuals were screened and 406 were enrolled and randomly assigned to one of the eight treatment groups, and 404 participants received at least one dose of trial treatment.

Among those who received at least one dose of trial treatment, on average they were 58·4 years with HbA1c of 7·9%; weight of 220 pounds’; with a BMI 34·9 (mild or low-risk obesity)

Of the 404:

168 were female

236 male

280 (69%) were White

124 (31%) were not White

After 26 weeks

HbA1c fell by .91% and 1·88% compared to the control group which only fell by .15%

Adverse events were reported by 63% to 87% of participants depending on how fast their dosages were increased. (However, even in the control group, 63% reported adverse events.) These events included nausea, constipation, diarrhea, and vomiting.

Interpretation

Once-daily oral elecoglipron showed reductions in glycaemia and a safety and tolerability profile consistent with the GLP-1 receptor agonist class at a similar dosage.

So…there MAY be a new medication to help us deal with Type 2!

To compare with the effectiveness of Metformin, Jardiance, Ozempic, Glucophage, Glucotrol, and Lantis, link here: https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/two-popular-diabetes-drugs-outperformed-others-large-clinical-trial

 LATER, folks!

Article Links: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(26)00802-0/abstract Image: https://asploro.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Diabetes-Research_Open-Access.jpg

GUY’S GOTTA TALK ABOUT…TYPE 2 DIABETES #44: “Standards In Care of Diabetics 2026”

For the first time since I started this blog eleven years ago, it’s going to be about me. I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes four years ago. While people are happy to talk about their experiences with diabetes, I WASN’T comfortable with talking about diabetes. The “other Type” of diabetes was what caused the death of my Best Man a year after my wife and I got married. He was diagnosed with diabetes when he was a kid. It was called Juvenile Diabetes then. Today it’s Type 1. I haven’t WANTED to talk about diabetes at all. But…for my own education and maybe helping someone else, and not one to shut up for any known reason, I’m reopening my blog rather than starting a new one. I MAY take a pause and write about Breast Cancer or Alzheimer’s as medical headlines dictate; but this time I’m going to drag anyone along who wants to join my HIGHLY RELUCTANT journey toward better understanding of my life with Type 2 Diabetes. You’re Welcome to join me!

“In December 2025, the American Diabetes Association released its “Standards of Care in Diabetes—2026”, the gold standard in evidence-based guidelines for diagnosing and managing diabetes and prediabetes. Based on the latest scientific research and clinical trials, it includes strategies for diagnosing and treating diabetes in children, adolescents, and adults; methods to prevent or delay diabetes and its associated comorbidities like obesity; and care recommendations to enhance health outcomes.”

“It represents an important advance in the delivery of evidence-based, person-centered care. Creating the latest scientific research with practical clinical strategies, it seeks to equip health care professionals with the tools necessary to provide the best care for individuals living with T1 and T2 Diabetes,” said Rita Kalyani, the ADA’s chief scientific and medical officer.”

So, what does all this mean?

Perhaps the most important change is that the prohibition with prescribing the CGM – also known as the Continuous Glucose Monitor – has been DROPPED! Who the heck cares? What the heck IS the CGM???

I can tell-you from close, second hand experience! My wife uses one. I can’t! She pops the device from a spring loaded “applicator” on the back of her left arm. The device itself is a disc with the various sensors in it and a tiny needle on the underside. It works like this:

All she has to do after it’s in and active, is pass her cellphone over it and it will not ONLY give a current read, but also the data from the past (however many minutes, hours, or days you want!)

So, the lifting of the prohibition of giving EVERYONE WHO WANTS ONE a CGM. I don’t happen to because I have no trouble with poking myself with an injector need and taking a blood sample. The reader device sends the data to a program on my cellphone and I can monitor it myself.

Of interest to ME: Diabetes management

“Updated blood pressure goals for individuals with high cardiovascular or kidney health risk and for older adults, with a tighter blood pressure goal for those at risk and a more relaxed goal for most older adults.”

BLOOD PRESSURE is a major issue for me – not because it’s dangerously high, but because I DO have high blood pressure. The new guidelines read: “Management of blood pressure and cholesterol lowering with statins have been associated with a reduced risk of incident dementia and are, thus, particularly important in older adults with diabetes.

“The on-treatment blood pressure goal for most older adults with diabetes is <130/80 mmHg when it can be achieved safely, A and more a relaxed blood pressure goal (e.g., <140/90 mmHg) may be used for people with poor health, limited life expectancy, or high risk for adverse effects of hypertensive therapy.”

“…although the Look AHEAD trial did not achieve its primary outcome of reducing cardiovascular events, the intensive lifestyle intervention produced multiple clinical benefits, including weight loss, improved physical fitness, increased HDL cholesterol, lowered systolic blood pressure, reduced A1C levels, reduced waist circumference, and reduced need for medications…” (for NEXT time: https://diabetesjournals.org/care/article/49/Supplement_1/S166/163915/8-Obesity-and-Weight-Management-for-the-Prevention)

There was also a long discussion of changes in the amount of monitoring and amelioration of blood pressure and blood sugars in individuals who have reached and “end-of-life” stage – offering more palliative (making them feel comfortable) care than making attempts to lower BP and blood sugars…

Interesting, indeed! As I said, I WILL be coming back to this in later posts!

Source: https://diabetes.org/newsroom/press-releases/american-diabetes-association-releases-standards-care-diabetes-2026
Image: https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41J0VUNJ8ML._SY445_SX342_QL70_FMwebp_.jpg