Imatinib, a drug used to treat chronic myeloid leukaemia and other cancers, may help preserve beta-cell function in people with recently diagnosed type 1 diabetes, a small trial shows.

US researchers evaluated the safety and efficacy of imatinib, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor, in preserving beta-cell function in 67 adults with recent-onset type 1 diabetes.

Participants were randomly allocated to 400mg/day imatinib or placebo for 26 weeks.

The primary outcome was the difference between groups in C-peptide area under the curve (AUC) over the first two hours of a mixed-meal glucose-tolerance test, a measure of endogenous insulin production.