Sotagliflozin protects the heart and kidneys in diabetics health

A recent clinical study revealed that sotagliflozin protects the heart and kidneys of patients with type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease.

The study was conducted by researchers from the University of Toronto in Canada, and its results were presented at Kidney Week held by the American Society of Nephrology in Philadelphia in the United States, and the York Alert website wrote about it in early November.

According to the World Health Organization, diabetes is a chronic disease that affects people as a result of insufficient insulin secretion or the body’s inability to deal with the secreted insulin effectively.

Insulin is a hormone that the body secretes to regulate blood sugar, and blood glucose rises as a result of uncontrolled diabetes. If blood glucose continues to rise, the patient is at risk of developing a serious group of health problems that affect the various body systems, especially those related to the nerves and blood vessels.

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the most common health problems that may result from diabetes include heart disease, chronic kidney disease, nerve damage, and vision problems.

Type 2 diabetes affects the way the body uses insulin, and when the body stops using it appropriately, it causes high blood sugar if not treated.

Factors that cause type 2 diabetes include being overweight, not exercising, and genetic factors.

How does sotagliflozin work?

Sotagliflozin belongs to a family of medications called sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors, according to the US Food and Drug Administration.

Sotagliflozin works to lower blood sugar by urging the kidneys to remove sugar from the body through urine.

The researchers analyzed data from a study known as “SCORD”, which included 10,000 patients suffering from type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease and who have a risk factor for heart disease.

The participants were randomly distributed into two groups, one of which received sotagliflozin, while the other received a placebo. The average follow-up period for patients was 16 months.

The researchers found that sotagliflozin reduced the incidence of a drop in the glomerular filtration rate in the kidneys by more than 50%, and reduced patients’ need for dialysis or kidney transplantation by an estimated 38%.

The glomerular filtration rate measures the amount of blood filtered by the kidneys every minute, and the measurement is recorded in milliliters per minute (ml/min). The lower the glomerular filtration rate, the lower the level of kidney function.

Sotagliflozin also reduced the incidence of heart- or kidney-related death by 23%.

Protection against heart failure

In turn, the responsible researcher, Dr. David Cherney, pointed out that the results of the study are consistent with what has been previously documented of the benefit of using “sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors” in diabetic patients who have risk factors for heart disease.

This benefit is in addition to the known benefit of sotagliflozin in preventing heart failure and problems associated with ischemia, such as myocardial infarction and strokes.

Dr. Cherny also pointed out that the US Food and Drug Administration has approved the use of this drug to reduce the incidence of heart failure and death resulting from cardiovascular disease, in addition to its widespread use in patients suffering from heart failure and chronic kidney disease.