Aggressive Treatment Doesn't Help Diabetics

Rigorous treatment to lower blood pressure or cholesterol below current guidelines does not benefit—and may actually hurt—diabetics, a new study shows. The findings, published online in the New England Journal of Medicine, suggest doctors may have to find new ways to treat diabetic patients. But that's not entirely bad news: limiting this type of rigorous treatment could lower the cost and potential side effects of drug therapy, researchers say.

"The take-home message is that the standard care approaches are pretty good," one researcher tells the Los Angeles Times. For now, doctors suggest stopping diabetes before it starts. "My personal opinion is that we need to put more effort into prevention," one doctor says. "If we prevent diabetes in the first place, we reduce risk."

(More diabetes stories.)