Diabetes medications may help reduce asthma attacks

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2024-11-19 03:00

International

What does this mean?

Jump to: MultimediaAttachmentsExpert Reaction

The common diabetes drug, metformin, may reduce asthma attacks in people with type 2 diabetes, according to international research which analysed data from 12,702 people with both asthma and type 2 diabetes in the UK. According to the researchers, using metformin lowered the risk of asthma attacks by 30%. They also found that the addition of another group of diabetes drugs, the glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RA), was associated with a further 40% lowered risk.  The authors suggest the potential for repurposing diabetic drugs to much-needed alternative treatments for asthma. They say that further research, including randomized clinical trials, is needed to confirm their effect and the mechanism of action in asthma.