A new treatment for Type-2 diabetes in children has shown promise in a clinical trial, according to a study. The drug, liraglutide, in combination with an existing medication, metformin, showed a robust effect in treating children with Type-2 diabetes, the results showed.

"We urgently need other options for medical treatment of Type-2 diabetes in our youth under age 18. If approved, this drug would be a fantastic new option to complement oral metformin therapy as an alternative to insulin for our youth and adolescents with Type 2 diabetes," said Lynch.

The study compared outcomes of 66 children who received liraglutide shots plus metformin pills for 26 weeks with the outcomes of 68 other children who received metformin and a placebo. Children between ages 10 and 17 were eligible for the study. The research, published in The New England Journal of Medicine, was a randomised, parallel-group, placebo-controlled trial. The average age of the participant children was 14.6 years, and more than 60 percent were female.