Salsalate Shown To Reduce Diabetes Risk

Diabetes researchers have found that the anti-inflammatory drug salsalate reduced glycemia and seemed to improve inflammatory cardiovascular risk indexes in overweight individuals at risk for development of type 2 diabetes.

Investigators at the Joslin Diabetes Center (Boston, MA, USA) selected salsalate for their proof-of-concept clinical study, since it blocks formation of the peripheral prostaglandins that cause pain and inflammation without inhibiting platelet aggregation. In the study, 20 obese young adults received either salsalate or a placebo in a double-masked protocol.

Results published in the February 2008 issue of the journal Diabetes Care revealed that those who took 4 g of salsalate per day for one month reduced fasting glucose levels by 13% and levels of C-reactive protein, a marker for inflammation, by 34%. Glycemic response after an oral glucose challenge dropped by 20%, and glycated albumin levels fell by 17%.

"This is exciting because salsalate has a good safety profile after many years of use, is inexpensive to make, and appears to have the potential to lower blood glucose,” said senior author Dr. Allison B. Goldfine, assistant professor of cellular and molecular physiology at the Joslin Diabetes Center. "Our study was the first to look at the metabolic changes that occur when you give salsalate to obese people who have not yet developed diabetes, and we are really encouraged by what we found. Although the drug was around, no one ever thought of using it in diabetes/metabolic syndrome.”


Related Links:
Joslin Diabetes Center