A simple blood test may predict the risk of progressive heart and kidney disease in people with type 2 diabetes, according to new research.
An
analysis of a clinical trial of more than 2,500 people with type 2 diabetes and
kidney disease has found that high levels of four biomarkers in blood tests are
strongly predictive for the development of heart and kidney issues, according
to the study published in the American Heart Association's flagship journal
Circulation.
“High
levels of certain biomarkers are indicators of heart and kidney complications
and may help predict future risk of disease progression,” said lead author
James Januzzi from Harvard Medical School, also a cardiologist at the
Massachusetts General Hospital.
People
who took canagliflozin, a sodium glucose co-transporter 2 inhibitor (SGLT2
inhibitor), had lower levels of the four biomarkers compared to those who took
a placebo over the three-year study period.
Canagliflozin
is a third-line medication to be tried after metformin, a first-line medication
for type 2 diabetes.
Treatment
with canagliflozin helped to substantially reduce the risk of hospitalisation
for heart failure and other heart complications among patients considered to
have the highest risk.
The
researchers analysed biomarker data from the blood samples of 2,627 people to
assess the effects of canagliflozin on concentrations of the four biomarkers.
Patients were separated into low, medium and high risk categories.
People
at highest risk showed dramatically higher rates of progressive kidney failure
and cardiovascular complications throughout the three-year study period.
The
analysis found high concentrations of each biomarker at the beginning of the
study were strongly predictive of the severity of the participant's heart and
kidney issues.
The
concentrations of each of the four biomarkers in people taking canagliflozin
were lower after one year and three years compared to those taking the placebo.
After
one year, the levels of all biomarkers in participants who took canagliflozin
rose 3 per cent to 10 per cent, compared to an increase of 6 per cent to 29 per
cent in those who took the placebo.
“It was
reassuring to discover that canagliflozin helped reduce risks the most in
people with the highest chances for complications. Future studies are needed to
better understand how type 2 diabetes in conjunction with kidney disease
develops and progresses so that we may initiate life-saving therapies earlier,
before symptoms of heart and kidney disease have occurred.” Januzzi said.
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