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(HealthDay News) – Salsalate, a prodrug form of salicylate, improves glycemic control and reduces inflammation in patients with type 2 diabetes, but also has some undesirable cardiac and renal effects, according to a study published in the July 2 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.
Allison B. Goldfine, MD, from the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston, and colleagues randomly assigned 286 patients with type 2 diabetes and inadequate glycemic control (fasting glucose levels of ≤12.5mmol/L and hemoglobin A1c of 7–9.5%) to current therapies plus placebo or 3.5g/d salsalate for 48 weeks.
Compared with placebo, the researchers found that salsalate significantly reduced hemoglobin A1c (by a mean of 0.37% more), fasting glucose (by a mean of 0.83mmol/L more), and inflammation (by significant reductions in leukocyte, neutrophil, and lymphocyte counts). The salsalate group also had more frequent reductions of diabetes medications than the placebo group (62% vs. 13%). However, patients taking salsalate had a six-fold higher relative risk of mild hypoglycemia, increased weight, increased low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, and a reversible increase in urinary albumin levels.
“Salsalate improves glycemia in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and decreases inflammatory mediators,” Goldfine and colleagues conclude. “Continued evaluation of mixed cardiorenal signals is warranted.”
Caraco Pharmaceutical Laboratories, LifeScan, and Mercodia provided supplies for the study.
