Aspirin-Like Drugs May Fight Type 2 Diabetes

Aspirin and related drugs may have something to teach us about how insulin resistanceinsulin resistance develops. Insulin resistance can lead to obesity and type 2 diabetes. How this occurs is unclear, although researchers believe that low levels of inflammation may be associated with the development of insulin resistance, which later increases the risks of other conditions. In a recent experiment on mice with signs of type 2 diabetes, an aspirin-like drug helped tame low-grade inflammation linked to insulin resistance. The drug also reversed the signs of type 2 diabetes. However, it's too soon to try aspirin for diabetes prevention. Losing extra weight, getting regular exercise, and eating healthfully are the best ways to reduce your risk of developing type 2 diabetes, say the researchers. The study was conducted at Boston's Joslin Diabetes Center, which is affiliated with Harvard Medical School. The report by Steven Shoelson, MD, PhD, and colleagues appears in Nature Medicine's advance online edition.

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