(HealthScoutNews) -- Low doses of extended-release niacin may help treat lipid abnormalities in people with Type II diabetes.

That's the conclusion of a study in the latest issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine, which was conducted by researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas. It included 148 people with Type II diabetes.

"Previous reports have shown that niacin in high doses raises blood glucose, but this trial shows that in doses of 1,000 milligrams per day and 1,500 milligrams per day, niacin therapy was well-tolerated and changes in glycemic control were minimal," says lead author Dr. Scott Grundy, director of the Center for Human Nutrition at UT Southwestern.

"Low doses of an extended form of niacin also had favorable effects on blood lipids and lipoproteins," Grundy says.

In their study, the researchers used niacin therapy to treat a condition called dyslipidemia, which affects many of the 14 million Americans with Type II diabetes. Dyslipidemia features high levels of triglycerides and other lipid-related abnormalities. It's also characterized by low levels of the so-called "good cholesterol," high-density lipoprotein (HDL).

The study volunteers were divided into three groups. They received either 1,500 milligrams a day of extended-release niacin, 1,000 milligrams a day of extended-release niacin or a placebo.

During the study, about half of the volunteers continued taking their prescribed statin drugs to lower cholesterol, and 81 percent kept taking their diabetes medications.

In the 1,500 milligrams-a-day group, HDL levels increased as much as 24 percent while triglycerides decreased by as much as 36 percent. That group also had a 7 percent decrease in low-density lipoproteins -- so-called "bad cholesterol."

The 1,000 milligrams-a-day group had an HDL increase of 19 percent.

More information

To learn more about Type II diabetes, visit the American Diabetes Association.

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