"An experimental drug improves patients blood sugar control without increasing the risk of low blood sugar hypoglycemia in patients with type  diabetes according to the results of a phase  clinical trial. Type  diabetes is the more prevalent form of the disease accounting for about  percent of cases. Often tied to obesity type  diabetes involves a gradual decline in how insulin responds to changes in blood sugar glucose. The new drug called TAK is a pill designed to enhance the secretion of insulin in response to such changes which means that it has no effect on insulin secretion when blood sugar levels are normal  potentially reducing the risk for hypoglycemia. The trial led by Dr. Charles Burant of the University of Michigan Medical School included  patients with type  diabetes who were not getting adequate blood sugar control through diet exercise or treatment with the firstline diabetes drug metformin. The patients were randomly assigned to receive either TAK  patients placebo  patients or another diabetes drug called glimepiride brand named Amaryl. The study was funded by Takeda Pharmaceutical which is developing the drug and appears online Feb.  in The Lancet. After  weeks all the patients taking the different doses of TAK had significant drops in their blood sugar levels the researchers said. A similar reduction occurred in patients taking glimepiride. However the incidence of episodes of hypoglycemia was much lower among patients taking TAK  percent than among those taking glimepiride  percent and the same as those taking the placebo  percent. The incidence of treatmentrelated side effects was  percent among patients taking TAK  percent among those in the placebo group and  percent among those in the glimepiride group according to the researchers. They write that they are excited about the potential of TAK and are eager to conduct larger trials to find out how well this drug works how safe it is and what its place is in the treatment of diabetes. In a journal commentary Clifford Bailey of Aston University in Birmingham England cautioned that on the journey to approval of a new class of treatment for type  diabetes many questions will be asked of drugs such as TAK including questions of how long they might remain effective as well as safety issues. Other diabetes experts had mixed views on the new findings. Dr. Loren Wissner Greene is clinical associate professor of endocrinology at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York City. She noted that glitazones  a separate class of newer drugs such as Rezulin Avandia and Actos that also target insulin resistance  have all shown initial promise in clinical trials before worrisome side effects began to surface in users due to concerns around heart risks Avandia remains on the U.S. market but under limited distribution.  As for TAK it targets a separate mechanism but again until more is known about shortterm and longterm cardiovascular effects we need to proceed with moderated enthusiasm for each new drug and drug mechanism Wissner Greene said.  Dr. Minisha Sood endocrinologist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City stressed that given the rising global incidence of type  diabetes the medical community is eagerly awaiting the development of novel agents to add to our existing armamentarium of antidiabetic agents. She said that though this study includes a small sample size followed for a short period of time the results are promising in that TAK appears to be effective for glycemic blood sugar control without significant risk for hypoglycemia or weight gain. However like WissnerGreene Sood said that further investigation is warranted especially including heart disease patients. More information The U.S. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases has more about diabetes medicines httpdiabetes.niddk.nih.govdmpubsmedicines_ez. SOURCE Loren Wissner Greene MD clinical associate professor endocrinology NYU Langone Medical Center New York City Minisha Sood MD endocrinologist Lenox Hill Hospital New York City  The Lancet news release Feb."