By LUKE CHAFER

Published: 20:19 EST, 9 November 2024 | Updated: 20:28 EST, 9 November 2024

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A pioneering type of diabetes drug can also slash the risk of painful kidney stones, research has found.

Canagliflozin and dapagliflozin help the body flush out excess fluid, allowing organs like the kidneys to function more effectively.

And experts say the drugs should become the first port of call for GPs.

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Previous studies have found that diabetes patients taking the daily tablets, known as SGLT-2 drugs, see their risk of early death or hospitalisation slashed by more than quarter.

Now, Canadian researchers have found that those on SGLT-2 tablets are also far less likely to develop other conditions linked to diabetes, such as gout – agonising pain in the joints. The drugs could be pivotal in helping diabetics lead healthier lives.

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A diabetes sufferer collecting a blood sample for blood sugar testing. It’s estimated that over 5.6million people in the UK are living with diabetes

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It is estimated that more than 5.6 million people in the UK are living with diabetes, with 90 per cent suffering from type 2 diabetes.

The condition occurs when the body can longer regulate the level of sugar in the blood, leading to complications including blindness, limb loss, and heart failure. Kidney stones and gout are also common in people with type 2 diabetes.

Kidney stones are hard deposits of minerals and salts, that can be incredibly painful. They can occur when the kidneys are not functioning as they should.

As diabetes often damages the kidneys – due to the pressure it puts on the organs which filter the blood – patients are twice as likely to develop the stones as people without diabetes.

Gout is also linked to poorly-functioning kidneys. This is because the painful swelling it causes occurs due to a build-up in the joints of uric acid, a toxin ordinarily filtered out of the body by the kidneys.

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A nurse giving a patient a diabetes test. Researchers have found that a type of diabetes drug can help slash the risk of developing other related conditions 

In the study, researchers at the University of British Columbia followed 20,000 diabetics over a year. Those taking canagliflozin or dapagliflozin were 30 per cent less likely to get kidney stones or gout than those who were not.

‘There is growing evidence that this is one of the very first drugs that people with type 2 diabetes should be prescribed,’ says Professor David Strain, an expert in diabetes at the University of Exeter.

‘Despite now knowing that these drugs can improve people’s quality of life they are not currently the go-to for doctors.’