Jun 30, 2008 8:21 pm US/Eastern
Sugar Treatment Could Help Diabetes Patients
(KDKA)
With the rates of obesity and diabetes soaring, doctors are scrambling for new treatments.
One possible treatment could not only treat the health problems but also satisfy a sweet tooth as well.
Doctors at the University of Maryland are testing a "sugar" as a potential treatment.
Doctor Thomas Donner led the early research on the low-calorie sweetener called Tagatose.
It's a sugar found naturally in dairy foods and used in sodas, cereals and toothpaste.
"We did a pilot study where we gave ten patients Tagatose for a full year and we saw improvements not only in their blood sugar level, but also reductions in weight," said Dr. Thomas Donner.
Participants who consumed Tagatose before meals did not have the typical spikes in blood sugar after eating.
Researchers think the sweetener, marketed as Naturlose, works because of the way it's metabolized in the body.
"We know it's poorly absorbed so maybe 10 to 15 percent actually gets into the bloodstream," said Dr. Donner. "And if you're not absorbing the sugar then obviously you're not getting the calorie or sugar effects."
Researchers are now doing larger studies on Tagatose to confirm the early findings.
Studies will be conducted at several centers across the country.
Researchers are looking for patients who treat their diabetes with diet and exercise alone.
For enrollment information, contact Randy Brown at Spherix Inc. by calling
(301) 957-4275.
If Tagatose does improve blood sugar control, it will be used in addition to other diabetes treatments.
For information about Tagatose or Naturlose,
click here.
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