Further findings from a landmark trial studying a new treatment for people with both Type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease (CKD) have been revealed.

Further analysis of data from the phase 3 CREDENCE clinical trial shows that the drug canagliflozin significantly reduced the risk of heart attacks and heart failure, as well as kidney failure, in peoples with Type 2 diabetes with or without pre-existing heart and circulatory disease.

The results were presented on 11 June at the American Diabetes Association’s scientific sessions in San Francisco.

Long standing links between diabetes and CKD

There are around 4.7 million people living with Type 2 diabetes in the UK, some 40 per cent of whom will go on to develop CKD.

CKD worsens the short and long-term prognosis for many common cardiovascular diseases and predominantly accounts for why more people with Type 2 diabetes die earlier. For people living with CKD and Type 2 diabetes, this could equate to up to a 16-year loss in life expectancy, far higher than for Type 2 or CKD on their own.

Enormous potential

Former Kidney Research UK funded researcher, David Wheeler, Professor of Kidney Medicine at University College London and Honorary Consultant Nephrologist at the Royal Free London NHS Foundation, said:

“Cardiovascular disease and kidney disease are two serious complications of Type 2 diabetes that may shorten life expectancy by several years. This latest analysis of the CREDENCE study demonstrates that for patients with Type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease, canagliflozin reduces the risk of a cardiovascular event, whether or not patients have already experienced one. This has the potential to help prevent clinical manifestations of cardiovascular disease – an area of great interest for healthcare professionals managing these patients.”

Read more about the drug trial developments.