A common over-the-counter cough suppressant can boost insulin
Type 2 diabetics could benefit from a drug that's already on the market.

Dextromethorphan (DXM) is a cough suppressant found in Vick's NyQuil Cold & Flu Relief, Triaminic Multi-Symptom Fever, Dimetapp Children's Multi-Symptom Cold & Flu, Tylenol Cold Multi-Symptom Nighttime, and similar over-the-counter cold medicines that make life so much more bearable when you're coughing your lungs out. It's not good for everyone though; the American Academy of Pediatricians has recommended that it not be given to children under the age of four, because it is completely ineffective for them and may even cause them harm.

But although it may be bad for kids, it may be good for type 2 diabetics; a recent report in Nature Medicine suggests that it increases glucose tolerance and does so in a way that is more effective than existing drugs.

Antidiabetic drugs currently on the market increase what's called the basal levels of insulin secretion—it goes up all the time, whether it's needed or not. This basal insulin secretion is a major cause of lethal hypoglycemia in the patients who take these drugs. New types of drugs that only boost insulin in response to glucose are thus highly desirable.

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