Diabetes is a big problem in the US — and thus, it is a big focus of doctors, researchers and pharmaceutical companies alike. New medications and developments alter how diabetes is treated.

The most widely prescribed medication for diabetes, metformin, also has heart health benefits for diabetes patients. For those without diabetes, however, its effects on the heart may be limited.

For those with prediabetes, blood sugar levels are high but not high enough to be diabetes. If patients don’t take action, however, they risk getting not only diabetes but heart disease as well.

Diabetes patients have to keep a watchful eye on their blood sugar level. If it dips extremely low, they can run the risk of developing a host of health issues, including heart disease.

As the obesity rate among young people has climbed, so has the rate of type 2 diabetes. Adolescents who get the disease may face more health problems than those who get it as an adult.

While several medications are already on the market to treat diabetes, not all patients have the desired control over their blood sugar levels. Alogliptin may offer a fresh option.

Diabetes drugs can do wonders for patients' blood sugar. However, those drugs also come with some risks, particularly to the heart. A recent study compared the safety of the two most common diabetes drugs.