Drug used by millions for common condition could end pain for arthritis sufferers

Researchers found medication that controls blood sugar levels in type 2 diabetes can also help patients with certain auto-immune diseases such as Lupus and arthritis

Drug used by millions for common condition could end pain for arthritis sufferers - Mirror Online

 

Did none of those millions of people taking the drug notice that their joints stopped hurting? Maybe the drug theoretically reduces autoimmune symptoms, but if it hasn't been noticed as being accidentally effective, maybe the theory is wrong, or at least exaggerated.

Also, aren't there risks of taking t-cell suppressors long-term?

 

"These cells are known to mistakenly attack healthy tissues in patients with autoimmune diseases,"

Er, wrong. Nobody has ever found T cells mistakenly attacking healthy tissues in autoimmune rheumatic disease as far as I know. This is plain ignorant but typical.

Actually, when people with rheumatoid disease were given Campath-1 all their T cells disappeared for years - decades I think now. It did not seem to affect their immune competence much but it made no difference to the arthritis.

 

I think this is the study:
Canagliflozin impairs T cell effector function via metabolic suppression in autoimmunity
Canagliflozin impairs T cell effector function via metabolic suppression in autoimmunity: Cell Metabolism