A diabetes drug's hidden talent: it calms the blood platelets that cause heart attacks and strokes

Sotagliflozin is already approved for type 2 diabetes and heart failure. Researchers at Michigan Medicine have now found a likely reason it also protects the heart and brain: in laboratory experiments published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, the drug quieted blood platelets — the tiny cell fragments whose clumping forms dangerous clots — in samples from both healthy volunteers and people with diabetes. A closely related drug, empagliflozin, had little to no such effect; in mice, sotagliflozin cut clot formation by about 60%, against 5 to 10% for the comparison drug. The difference appears to be the drug's double action: it blocks two sugar-handling proteins, not one, including one found in the gut and blood vessels. 'The search for medications that reduce the risk of life-threatening blood clots without increasing the risk of bleeding has continued for decades,' said co-author Michael Holinstat. 'Sotagliflozin has now been demonstrated to serve both functions.'

SDG 3 · Good health and well-being — Mechanism: tech innovation