WASHINGTON, Oct. 13 (UPI) -- Physicians and drug makers in the United States are examining whether drugs used to treat diabetes can prevent the disease in others who may be at risk.
Pharmaceutical companies in the United States and Europe are looking into diabetes prevention through existing drugs, The Wall Street Journal said Friday. Some physicians prescribe diabetes drugs to patients thought likely to develop diabetes even though the U.S. Food and Drug Administration hasn't approved drugs for that use, the Journal said.
Studies focus on type 2 diabetes, a condition in which not enough insulin is produced to convert sugar and other food into energy, the Journal said.
Analysts said the potential market is perhaps $15 billion a year, the Journal said. About 54 million people in the United State exhibit pre-diabetes, meaning their blood-sugar test results are higher than normal but don't reach the type 2 threshold.
But prescribing drugs as a preventative measure raises questions for the FDA and others, primarily about using drugs to arrest a disease that studies show sometimes can be treated by diet and exercise, the Journal said. Supporters said it isn't a question of either-or but both.
