Januvia : New medicine for diabetes in India

DIABETES IS one of the serious ailments from which millions of Indians suffer. But sadly, despite advances in science and technology a cure for the disease is yet not available. In India there are around 686 brands of medicines to treat diabetes, but none are very effective. In fact, most of the drugs available in the market only push the body to secrete more insulin, leading to faster degeneration of the body’s own mechanism to control sugar.

However, Merck and Co Inc US, a multinational pharmaceutical company has recently introduced a new low-cost, hassle-free patent protected drug to check the disease in India. Used by the diabetic patients in USA for the last two years, the drug will cost around Rs 300 per week in India. The drug company is claiming that the new pill has now side effect and is very easy to use.

Dr Sethu Reddy, regional director, scientific affairs, Merck and Co Inc US told media about the medicine during a workshop in Mumbai organised on Saturday, July 05. He said the medicine is mainly for two types of diabetic patients and is meal independent, without any dosage adjustments. Reddy mentioned that the medicine can be prescribed by even doctors at primary health centres as it does not have major side effects like hypoglycemia (lower glucose level than normal) and weight gain.

According to experts, the pill sold under the name Januvia contains the new molecule called Sitagliptin, which is the first of a new class of drugs known as Dipeptidyl peptidase IV ( DPP4) enhances the body’s own ability to lower blood sugar (glucose) when it is elevated. Besides, the new drug modifies the gut (intestine) peptide Incretin and makes the pancreas stimulate insulin without straining itself.

Due to presence of ’thrifty gene syndrome’, people living in Indian sub-continent are more prone to diabetes. The genetic disorder hibernates in Indian race and get activated because of sedentary lifestyle, bad food habits and improper sleep and cause diabetes. If not cured diabetes leads to several complications such as renal disorder, which can lead to kidney failure requiring dialysis, blood vessel damage in the eyes leading to blindness, nerve damage in the feet can lead to amputation and heart disease can lead to death.

Presently, there are about four crore diabetic patients in India. Out of these only 1.5 crore are aware of their situation and are under some form of treatment. Out of those under treatment patients, only 20 per cent are able control their sugar level. Unfortunately, diabetic patients in India generally use medicines to get cured from the ailment, but they don’t think to change their lifestyle including proper diet, exercise and sleep.

Source: merinews.com

Heavyweight babies more likely to develop rheumatoid arthritis

Washington, June 30: Female babies with higher birth weight are twice as likely to develop rheumatoid arthritis as adults than their average contemporaries, says a new study.

The results support the foetal origin of disease theory, which argues that certain conditions and diseases in adult life are programmed by factors during pregnancy.

Diabetes, coronary heart disease, and high blood pressure for example have been linked to low birth weight.

The findings are based on a survey of over 87,000 US women between 1976 and 2002, who were aged between 30 and 55 at the beginning of the study.

Every two years, the women were quizzed about their health, lifestyle and family illnesses. In 1992, they were asked to provide information on their birth weight.

During the study period, 619 women were diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis for the first time, reports Eurekalert.

Women who weighed more than 4.54 kg at birth were twice as likely to develop the auto-immune disease as those who weighed between the average of 3.2 to 3.85 kg at birth.

The results held true even after taking into account factors likely to influence the baby's birth weight.

These included socio-economic status, parental smoking, maternal diabetes, age at first period, use of oral contraceptives, breastfeeding and weight.

There is no obvious biological explanation for the findings, say the authors. But adults with rheumatoid arthritis have abnormal hormone regulation, and it is thought that this process may be triggered while in the womb.

Researchers believe that the risk of rheumatoid arthritis could be lessened during pregnancy and altering the mother's diet could open up an avenue for prevention.

The findings have been published online ahead of print in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases.

Source: IANS/Eurekalert