- A commonly prescribed medication for rheumatoid arthritis might help prevent the progression of type 1 diabetes, according to new research.
- Researchers said a few participants in the clinical trial did not need any insulin by the end of the study. The rest of the participants decreased the amount of insulin they needed daily.
- Researchers reported that although the drug reduced the need for insulin, it did not cure the disease.
Researchers at St Vincent’s Institute of Medical Research in Melbourne, Australia, are reporting that a commonly prescribed rheumatoid arthritis drug can help suppress the progression of type 1 diabetes.
Their findings were revealed in a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
The medication, baricitinib (Olumiant), is an immunosuppressant used in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.
Baricitinib has also been
Like type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, atopic dermatitis, and alopecia areata are autoimmune disorders.
In addition, the FDA granted emergency use authorization in 2020 to baricitinib to treat COVID-19 when combined with remdesivir for people needing a respirator.
In the new clinical trial, researchers said that baricitinib can effectively preserve the body’s insulin production and suppress the progression of type 1 diabetes when treatment begins within 100 days of diagnosis.
“When type 1 diabetes is first diagnosed there is a substantial number of insulin-producing cells still present. We wanted to see whether we could protect the further destruction of these cells by the immune system. We showed that baricitinib is safe and…
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