Starlix improves glucose in people with prediabetes.

2002 JUL 22 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Starlix (nateglinide) enhances early insulin secretion and controls mealtime glucose spikes in people with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), a condition also known as prediabetes. These data were presented at the World Congress of Cardiology in Sydney, Australia.

"Starlix essentially restored the normal pattern of insulin secretion in this prediabetic population to help control mealtime glucose levels," said Leif Groop, MD, PhD, department of endocrinology, University of Lund, Sweden, one of the study's lead investigators. "Since loss of early insulin secretion is one of the first signs of progression to type 2 diabetes, these results are very encouraging."

IGT is called prediabetes because those with the condition have blood glucose levels higher than normal but not high enough for a diagnosis of diabetes. People with IGT show abnormalities in both insulin secretion and response to insulin (insulin sensitivity), and are at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes, with a 40-50% chance of developing the disease within 10 years. IGT is also a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease.

The placebo-controlled, multicenter European study involved 288 people with IGT. ...