UVA researchers say drugs that treat HIV can help prevent Type 2 Diabetes

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) - Researchers at the University of Virginia now say a group of drugs used to treat HIV and Hepatitis B could be used to prevent Type 2 diabetes and treatment could be available to the public as early as next year.

They found that patients taking a group of drugs called Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitor (NRTI’s) had a 33% lower risk of developing diabetes. The study looked at data from 150 million people all across the United States.

While the research is groundbreaking, there is still work to be done.

“What we need to do is actually do clinical trials, randomized trails, to find which particular drugs work best, and which is the best dose, and in fact, the clinical trials should use lower toxicity or no toxicity versions of these drugs," Dr. Jayakrishna Ambati with UVA Health said.

Researchers say those trials will begin early next year and treatments could be available on the market within a year, or two at the latest.