Cos The Vall d'hebron Research Institute (VHIR) has participated in a study published in the http://bit.ly/2xZ4yvQ New England Journal of Medicine demonstrating that adding sotagliflozin, an oral drug, regular treatment with insulin in patients with type 1 diabetes improve control of the disease in a significant percentage of cases.28% of the patients who received the drug achieved the primary goal of keeping the glycohemoglobin (a reference indicator in the control of diabetes) to a level lower than the 7%, without suffering severe ketoacidosis or hypoglycaemia in comparison with the 15% of patients in the placebo group.In addition, in the group treated with sotagliflozin, the figure of glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) decreased by 0.46%, loss of weight was 2.98 kg, blood pressure decreased among those who suffered from hypertension in 3.5 mmHg and the daily dose of insulin lowered significantly. Cos "The study is of remarkable importance, as it will improve the metabolic control, without increasing the dose of insulin or increasing the weight, in an important segment of the patients who suffer from type 1 diabetes, and therefore, the risk of complications in the long term will be lower than that," said Dr. Rafael Simó, head of the http://bit.ly/2tgeCBr Research group on Metabolism and Diabetes of Vall d'hebron Research Institute and co-author of the study. Cos The results of the study were presented at the 53th Annual Congress of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes recently held in Lisbon. Cos Characteristics of the studyThe study, phase 3, multicentre, randomized and double blind, lasted 24 weeks and 133 centres from 19 countries participated, including the VHIR. The 1,402 patients were divided into two groups, one of them received sotagliflozin 400mg daily and the other placebo. Patients maintained the insulin treatment they had previously and the dose was periodically adjusted depending on the needs. Cos The challenge of getting a good glycaemic control Most type 1 diabetic patients have a hard time getting an optimal glycaemic control with insulin. So far, there is no oral drug approved to reduce the concentration of glucose in blood in combination with insulin in patients with type 1 diabetes. Sotagliflozin is a dual inhibitor of SGLT1 and SGLT2, proteins involved in the regulation of the transport of glucose. The first is responsible for the absorption of glucose from the gastrointestinal tract and the second is in charge of the glucose reabsorption by the kidney. Cos Type 1 diabetes Cos Type 1 diabetes is a metabolic disease caused by the destruction of the beta cells of the pancreas, which produce insulin, a hormone important in glucose metabolism. It affects about 29 million people around the world and still a cure has not been found. Cos People with type 1 diabetes is treated with insulin injections. It is known that there are genetic factors and environmental factors that influence the development of the disease, which usually appear in children or young people, and it is still being investigated to be able to prevent it or cure it.