FDA Backs Drug That Controls Blood Sugar Via the Brain

Rate This

Type 2 diabetics may soon get another tool to control their blood sugar levels in the form of a drug that resets a body clock in the brain that in turn helps control metabolism, the Associated Press reports.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday approved Cycloset, made by VeroScience Inc., of Tiverton, R.I., to treat type 2 diabetes. Cycloset, a new version of an older drug called bromocriptine, is used in higher does to treat Parkinson's disease, the drug maker said in a news release, according to the AP. The new drug targets the bodys dopamine activity, a chemical messenger between nerve cells within the nervous system.

Cycloset is the first drug to gain approval under new FDA guidelines requiring better evidence from drug companies that diabetes treatments are heart-safe, since diabetics are at increased risk for cardiovascular problems, the AP reported. The company said Cycloset can be taken once a day in the morning to control post-meal blood sugar rises all during the day.