"Jardiance May Help Heart by Shifting Its Fuel" - Nicole Lou
The SGLT2 inhibitor empagliflozin (Jardiance) shifted myocardial metabolism from glucose to other more energy-efficient metabolites in a pig model, researchers said, suggesting a mechanism for its cardiac benefits beyond glucose lowering. With greater utilization of the non-glucose fuel, empagliflozin increased myocardial ATP production and improved myocardial work efficiency, as Juan Badimon, PhD, professor of cardiology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and colleagues reported in the Journal of American College of Cardiology. The improved myocardial energetics resulted in enhanced left ventricular systolic function and an easing of adverse left ventricular remodeling at the anatomical, metabolic, and neurohormonal levels, they found. “Therefore, it seems reasonable to conclude that the benefits of empagliflozin are, at least in part, mediated via a mechanism independent of its glucose-lowering activity."
— Juan J. Badimon, PhD, Professor, Cardiology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Director, Atherothrombosis Research Unit at the Cardiovascular Institute, Mount Sinai Health System