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The Food and Drug Administration has approved a new diabetes pill from Boehringer Ingelheim and Eli Lilly for patients who can’t control their blood sugar with older medicines.According to The Center For Disease control diabetes is one of the most common chronic diseases in children and adolescents; about 151,000 people below the age of 20 years have diabetes.

The agency said Monday it approved Tradjenta tablets for adults with type 2 diabetes. Type 2 is the most common form of diabetes, affecting up to 95 percent of the 24 million people in the U.S. with diabetes. People with the disease have trouble breaking down carbohydrates, because their bodies have become resistant to the protein insulin. They are at higher risk for heart attacks, kidney problems, blindness and other serious complications.

Tradjenta works by blocking the DPP-4 enzyme, which releases insulin-boosting hormones that help control blood sugar levels. Merck & Co. Inc. and Bristol-Myers Squibb already market similar drugs in the U.S.

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