New Drug Raises HGL Cholesterol And Helps Control Type 2: According to new research, a medication that was designed to help improve the levels of “good” cholesterol could also help to control blood sugar in people who have diabetes and are taking a cholesterol-lowering drug.

This finding came from researchers who were analyzing data from a clinical trial for a drug called torcetrapib. Torcetrapib is a cholesterol ester transfer protein inhibitor, a drug that increases high-density lipoproteins also known as HDL levels.

This study was completed on 6,661 people who have type 2 diabetes who showed improvement in their blood sugar levels while taking torcetrapib and a stain medication that helped to reduce low-density lipoproteins, also known as LDL levels.

Philip Barter, M.B.B.S., Ph.D., a professor of medicine and director of the Heart Research Institute at the University of Sydney in Australia says, “The possibility that CETP inhibitor drugs may not only reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke, but may also improve the control of blood sugar in people with diabetes, is an exciting prospect that may translate into real health benefits for people with diabetes.”

According to the World Health Organization about 220 million people across the globe have diabetes and about 95 percent have type 2 diabetes, which adds an increase to heart disease, stroke and other heart problems.

Barter states, “While the experimental drug was not as effective in taming diabetes as drugs that are commonly used for that purpose, it did reduce the adverse impact on blood sugar commonly seen with statin use, inhibition of CETP has the potential to prevent a worsening of diabetic control that often occurs in people taking statin drugs.”

The clinical trial was called ILLUMINATE (Investigation of Lipid Level Management to Understand its Impact in Atherosclerotic Events) and was completed on 15,000 people from age 45 to 75. Every person that the trial was completed on had either a history of heart attack, stroke, chest pain, peripheral vascular disease or cardiac revascularization (angioplasty or bypass) and all were on medication to control their diabetes.