Apples for Health- Arthritis drug may treat diabetes

Arthritis drug may treat diabetes

BOSTON, Jan. 20 (UPI) -- A Harvard researcher's discovery in an old German medical journal may provide a new, cost-effective way to help treat diabetes.

Steven Shoelson found an 1876 article in the journal that suggested the arthritis drug salsalate may help diabetics control their blood sugar, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.

Shoelson and colleagues at the Joslin Diabetes Center have been testing the anti-inflammatory drug in several small studies of type 2 diabetes and found it significantly lowered spikes in blood sugar. The report said the drug could be benefit patients in the United States and in developing countries where other diabetes drugs could be too costly for many patients.

"It's a cheap, generic drug that has the potential to add to our tools for improving glucose control in diabetics," National Institutes of Health scientist Myrlene Staten told the newspaper. "Improving glucose control lowers the cost of diabetes treatment and the risk of complications and hospitalizations."