1950’S Medication Is Used To Treat Type 2 Diabetes

For the first time in 20 years doctors have a new medication to help treat type 2 diabetes.

It’s a drug with a past dating to the 1950s but arriving at century’s end when some doctors have begun to rethink this type of diabetes, which often strikes in midlife.

Endocrinologists throughout Florida are hailing the medication’s arrival as a new treatment option for one of the state’s biggest medical problems.

Called metformin and sold as Glucophage, the oral drug was approved late last month by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Doctors are just beginning to prescribe the medication for people who have failed to respond to standard therapy, usually exercise, diet and other medications to keep blood sugar in check.