Drug signals hope for diabetes patients
Obese people and those living with diabetes may benefit from a new treatment which lowers blood pressure, it has emerged.
Direct renin inhibitors (DRIs) have been found to target the causes of raised blood pressure (hypertension), thereby offering increased protection against heart and renal disease, as well as the blindness associated with diabetes.
Peter Sever, professor of clinical pharmacology and therapeutics at Imperial College London, pointed out that inhibiting the activity of renin can ultimately prevent its "pathological consequences" in the tissues of the kidney, eye, heart, blood vessels and brain.
"Whilst any patient with elevated blood pressure will benefit from DRI therapies, patients with type-2 diabetes, who are prone to obesity and also cardiovascular, renal and eye damage, are also candidates for DRI therapy as an early component of blood pressure-lowering treatment," he remarked.
Further trials are being carried out to test the treatment’s ability to reduce damage to the heart, kidneys and other organs, as well as cut the rate of deaths, heart attacks, strokes and renal failure in patients with diabetes and high blood pressure.
According to a recent review of public health, England has the highest levels of obesity in Europe and diabetes is on the rise.
The Insurance Helpline specialises in obtaining cover for people living with obesity and diabetes
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