Study: Doctors avoid best diabetes therapy

Nearly 67 percent of people with diabetes in China have difficulty keeping their blood glucose within safe levels because of widespread "clinical inertia" - a reluctance to prescribe combination drug therapies that have proved effective in other countries - according to a new study.

Backed by pharmaceutical giant MSD, the study tracked more than 5,000 patients and 237 clinical research centers for almost a year. It is thought to be the largest study ever conducted in China on the treatment of Type 2 diabetes.

The findings were published in the first issue of Science China Life Sciences, an academic journal of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the National Natural Science Foundation of China.