Diabetes drug ‘could save thousands of lives’

A NEW study shows a cholesterol-lowering drug dramatically reduces the risk of stroke and heart disease in diabetes sufferers and could save thousands of lives if prescribed earlier.

At a prestigious medical conference in America last weekend a team of Irish and British researchers presented findings that show the drug Lipitor halves the incidence of stroke and reduces cardiovascular problems by over a third in type II diabetics.

The study is the first to examine cholesterol-lowering in diabetes patients without existing cardiovascular disease or high cholesterol. The findings have major implications for over 140,000 patients.