Adding dapagliflozin to conventional drugs for type 2 diabetes may improve glycemic

control without causing significant weight gain, according to a new meta-analysis by a research team from the University of Macau (UM) Institute of Chinese Medical Sciences (ICMS) and State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese Medicine. The research team was headed by Dr. Siu-wai Leung, assistant professor at ICMS. Earlier, the research findings were reported by Reuters Health, and were also published on Medscape, a professional medical website widely used by clinicians around the world.

Principal investigator Dr. Leung, along with postgraduate students Sun Yunan and Zhou Yi, as well as four other participants Chen Xi, Che Weng-si, Leong Kai-seng, and Chan Weng-hang, found that when used alone, dapagliflozin acting on the kidney is not as effective in lowering blood glucose levels as other anti-diabetic drugs which increase insulin sensitivity or act on the liver to lower blood glucose; however, when used in combination with conventional anti-diabetic drugs, it greatly improves glycemic control without causing significant weight gain. An anti-diabetic therapy without the side effect of weight gain is what type 2 diabetes patients with predisposition towards obesity have been awaiting for decades.

The study by Dr. Leung and his research team was first published in BioMed Central’s (part of Springer Science+Business Media) Systematic Reviews, and the British Medical Journal’s BMJ Open journals. It was later reported by Reuters Health and media from around the world. The study has also been published as reference material on Medscape, a professional medical website widely used by clinicians around the world.