Arthritis Drug May Aid Blood Sugar Control

An arthritis drug also may help to control diabetes, new research suggests. The study included 108 people with type 2 diabetes. They were randomly assigned to receive the drug salsalate or placebos (fake pills). Salsalate is similar to aspirin but has fewer side effects. After three months, people who took salsalate had more improvement in blood sugar control than people who took placebos. They also did better in some tests related to heart disease risk. But the salsalate group also was more likely to have protein in the urine. This can be an early warning sign of kidney problems. Researchers said more and larger studies are needed. The study was published online by the journal Annals of Internal Medicine. HealthDay News wrote about it March 15.