[메디컬투데이=이승재 기자] Research results have shown that baricitinib, an immunosuppressant used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, is also effective in type 1 diabetes.
The results of a study examining the effectiveness of baricitinib in patients with type 1 diabetes were published in the ‘New England Journal of Medicine.’
Type 1 diabetes is a disease that occurs when the body’s immune cells attack the pancreas, causing a shortage of insulin, a hormone produced by the pancreas, causing blood sugar levels to soar. Type 1 diabetes is currently treated with insulin injections. However, this method is inconvenient as it requires daily injections, so new treatments are being actively developed.
Researchers investigated whether baricitinib, an immunosuppressant used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, was effective in treating type 1 diabetes.
Baricitinib, sold under the brand name ‘Olumiant’, was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of hair loss, and showed significant clinical trial results for the treatment of atopic dermatitis.
The researchers explained that baricitinib may be effective because rheumatoid arthritis, hair loss, and atopic dermatitis are all autoimmune diseases like type 1 diabetes.
Researchers observed the response of children and adolescents diagnosed with type 1 diabetes within 100 days of the study by administering baricitinib or placebo for 48 weeks.
The study found that insulin production was not reduced in patients taking baricitinib. Additionally, when taking baricitinib, fluctuations in blood sugar levels were reduced and the need for insulin injection treatment was reduced. The three patients taking baricitinib did not require insulin injection treatment by the end of the study period.
However, the researchers explained that at the time type 1 diabetes is diagnosed, the pancreas has been destroyed to the point where it is difficult to reverse, so it is difficult to treat baricitinib alone, and there is no choice but to combine insulin treatment.
[ⓒ 메디컬투데이. 무단전재-재배포 금지]
2023-12-08 08:12:21
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