1876 article may point to cheap diabetes drug

A journal article published in 1876 has supported a researcher's suggestion that a decades-old arthritis drug could be a cheap  alternative in the treatment of diabetes, the Wall Street Journal  reports.

Salsalate, a non-steroidal, anti-inflammatory medication, that is  similar to aspirin and does not cause stomach bleeding, has been linked  to beneficial results in a modern setting for some time (Marketletter  February 11, 2008). Steven Sholeson, a researcher at Joslin Diabetes  Center in Massachusetts, USA, found confirmation of his theory that the  drug could be used as a cheap alternative in the treatment of type 2  diabetes in a German medical article from the 19th century.

According to the WSJ, the drug blocks a chemical pathway that may  provide the link between inflammation and diabetes that has long been  sought by researchers. The drug significantly lowered spikes in blood  sugar in a set of small trials in around 30 diabetics, with results from  a larger study forthcoming.